Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties
by InfiniteCypher
Summary: With monsters disappearing worldwide, Hotel Transylvania has become packed with scared monsters seeking safety. Dracula and his family are left busier than ever. However, when a mysterious young vampire arrives at the Hotel, it becomes clear that something much bigger is at work in the shadows. It's up to Mavis to get to the bottom of it all in order to protect her family.
1. Missing Monsters

**Act I: In Sheep's Clothing**

 **Chapter 1: Missing Monsters**

Vlad couldn't say that he missed having the bat cronies around. They were always so annoying whenever they weren't brooding or sleeping. He especially didn't miss how they would collectively freak out whenever the term "human" was used.

Luckily for Vlad, he wouldn't have to deal with the bat cronies again. Their loyalty to him was broken ever since he sided against them and their leader, Bela, in the fiasco the year before. He hasn't seen them since then, but he had no doubt that they were in another cave brooding, sleeping, and being annoying to poor souls who may be nearby.

As a retired vampire, Vlad would like nothing more than to spend his days in peace, however long his life will be. A great benefit of the retired life was that he could visit Hotel Transylvania whenever he wanted to see the family he'd long been disconnected from. To be fair to the old vampire, that disconnection wasn't entirely his fault.

The ancient vampire sat in the throne in his cave; in one hand was a remote control. It was night, so of course he was awake.

There were a few minor changes with the cave. The entrance no longer had jagged spikes from the floor and ceiling because - according to Mavis - it was distasteful and that there was no need to guard the cave. There were a few torches burning all the time so Drac and his people could find the place better. Other additions included more furniture and family photos scattered all over the cave.

Recently, the spikes at the entrance wouldn't have seemed like a bad idea. Vlad was unnerved by the recent disappearances, and he wanted to be as safe as he could be.

A few feet in front of Vlad sat a television screen which stood on top of something that Vlad could only refer to as "the TV table." He had no idea how his grandson-in-law was able to power a TV in the cave. Everything Johnny said about "satellite" and "HBO" went over Vlad's head. What concerned him was whether or not the TV would work. Still, he didn't fully trust the machine. Part of Vlad was convinced that televisions were mind control devices, and - in a way - they were.

"Unbelievable," Vlad groaned as he watched the program. "Who actually enjoys this garbage? I, for one, could not care less to keep up with the whatever-they're-called."

He changed the channel with his remote.

"The zombie representation in this show is highly inaccurate," Vlad complained. "If I were a zombie, I'd be offended."

He changed the channel once again.

"Preposterous!" exclaimed Vlad. He continued, "No human can control a dragon, much less three of them."

Vlad scrolled through the channels once more.

"Kakie love cake!" said the pink monster on the screen.

Vlad's eye twitched. He then said, "I love the kid, but his taste in entertainment really needs some work. I remember the good old days where public lynchings were the best entertainment around. Don't you?"

No one answered.

Vlad turned his head left and right, almost as if he was expecting someone - _anyone_ \- to be there. He sunk back down into his chair.

"I really need to stop talking to myself," he muttered. He then let out a loud sigh. "I need a hobby."

Even old vampires lived relatively mundane lives. However, Vlad thought he lived a pretty full life. After living almost one-thousand and three-hundred years, he's seen pretty much anything a vampire could see. Once in a while, luckily, Dracula and his pals at the hotel show Vlad something new. That makes every trip to the hotel worth it for Vlad.

He realized that it has been a while since he checked his mailbox. He checked it more often following the reunion with his family because the Hotel was always having something extravagant in the works, and Vlad was always invited. Unfortunately, he didn't come as often as he liked.

He got up from his throne and walked toward the exit of the cave where his mailbox was. He didn't care that his television was left on. That mailbox was one of the few things that Vlad owned which made his cave somewhat resemble a home. It wasn't just for show, either. Sure, the mailman would never show up to 666 Gory Lane, but Dracula's servants would often put letters in there for Vlad.

As terrible of company the bat cronies were, at least they got Vlad's mail for him. One of the downsides of not having anymore servants was that you had to do everything yourself. He couldn't imagine living like his son: doing everything for everyone.

"Alright," Vlad said as he opened his mailbox, "let's see what we have this time."

He grabbed the one letter which lay for him inside.

"From the Hotel," Vlad said to himself. "Of course it's from the Hotel. Who else would send a letter?"

Normally, he'd walk back to his throne to open the letter, but he was too eager to read its contents. Using his long, curved nail, Vlad cut open the letter. He took out the card that lay inside, crumpling the opened envelope in his hand and throwing it off of the side of the cliff the cave rested on.

A smile grew on Vlad's face when he saw the large, cursive words that the card had.

Vlad read, "'You're invited to Mavis Dracula's one-hundred-and-twenty-seventh birthday. Geez, what's up with the Dracula's and their birthday parties. I haven't had a birthday party in one thousand years!"

Vlad then opened the card to see if there was a personalized note inside. However, as he opened the card, a piece of paper fell out of it. The paper was - obviously - tucked in inside of the card. The old vampire did not notice the paper falling out. His attention was directed toward the small note that was written inside the card.

It read:

 _Dear Dad,_

 _As you may know, Mavis' one-hundred-and-twenty-seventh birthday is coming up in a few weeks. It would be wrong to not invite you to this occasion. It's been a while since the last gathering. It'd be good to get you off of your ancient booty._

 _Furthermore, I'm sure if you've heard the news of those monsters going missing. We're all concerned here. We'd like you to come to the Hotel and stay with us a while until this whole fiasco is solved. I know that this isn't the first time we asked this of you, but we wouldn't ask if we didn't think it was important. Should you choose to go, our doors are open. Just so you know, Mavis insisted that we get an answer from you directly. So, she and I will visit your home soon. No need to clean up for us, however._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Your Son, Count Dracula_

"Well, at least he's looking out for me," said Vlad, scoffing.

He then looked down at the ground below his feet. There, he found the slip of paper that fell out of the card. The paper - which was actually more like a playing card than a piece of paper - was completely red on the side Vlad was looking at.

Vlad curiously bent down and picked up the card. He brought it up to eye height to examine it. On the outside, the card was nothing special. It was just a plain red on that one side. However, the figurative blood drained from Vlad's face when he turned the card over.

On the other side of the card was the capital letter "H" colored golden on the red.

He heard shuffling behind him. He knew that he wasn't alone. Not anymore.

"So, what is this?" asked Vlad. "A calling card? It's the twenty-first century. Nobody does this sort of thing anymore."

"I figured that you'd appreciate a more classical touch," said a rough, male voice behind Vlad. The old vampire recognized the voice.

"You?" Vlad asked. "It was you the whole time? You're the one behind the disappearances."

"Bingo," said the voice.

Vlad turned around to face his adversary. He saw the man hidden in the shadows of his cave, but he knew who he was. Unfortunately for Vlad, there was more than one shadow in there.

One of the shadows stepped into the moonlight. Vlad studied him to try to place him. He was humanoid with dark brown skin, wearing cloth for underwear, orange hair all over his body with a mane around his head, beady black eyes, and two sharp teeth like a vampire's except it came from his bottom set of teeth.

"Grendel," Vlad said. "You're with _him_?"

"His path leads to a better future for us all," Grendel said.

"Is that what this is about?" asked Vlad. "I brighter future. I don't suppose you'll tell me why you're doing this."

"All in good time, old man," the voice said. "Unfortunately for you, I'm going to have to tell you this story somewhere else."

"I'd rather not leave my home, thank you very much," argued Vlad.

Vlad was much taller than the intruder he spoke with, but he couldn't help feel incredibly disadvantaged. Overconfidence was a fatal flaw, and Vlad knew better than to walk that path. He wasn't sure if he could take on everyone in front of him.

"What you're telling me is that you don't want to do this the easy way," the intruder said with a sigh and a great sense of disappointment. "No problem. We can do this the hard way. Although, I'd hate to treat an old man with such force."

"You won't have to," said Vlad with a strong sense of determination. He gestured his hand toward the intruder to use his body immobilization skill. That ability has never failed Vlad in the past, and that thought was exactly what was running in Vlad's head.

The confidence in Vlad quickly died. The intruder crossed his forearms in front of his chest, making an X-shape. The red energy which usually surrounded Vlad's victims of immobilization appeared for a second but then disappeared. The intruder was not frozen in place; nothing happened to him. Vlad's facial expression turned from happy to stern as quickly as he could transform into a bat.

"Tsk tsk tsk. I'm sorry old man, but I'm not like everyone else," the intruder lectured. "Your tired old tricks aren't going to work on me. There is a silver lining, however..."

The many shadowy figures that stood to the side of the stranger stepped forward into the moonlight, closing in on Vlad.

"I know for a fact that we're doing this the hard way," said the intruder. "You can try to turn into a bat and fly away, but you know my Hunters will catch you. You can try to use all of your powers on them, but you know they'll overcome them. But, please... it's been a while since they last fought a worthy adversary. Show them a good time before they take you down."

* * *

Mavis knelt down next to the birthday invitation her father sent to her grandfather. It was dirty, as if someone had repeatedly stepped on it. In fact, she was certain that that was what happened.

Next to the birthday card was the red calling card. It too was dirty. Mavis picked it up and turned it over to find the golden "H" on it.

"What is this?" she asked herself.

She heard footsteps coming from inside the cave. Turning her head to look at the source, she found her father walking towards her with his head down and body concealed under his cape. The expression he gave was less than cheerful. There was no way that he had any good news to give.

"I can't find him anywhere," Dracula informed. His voice slightly quivered with worry. "I've checked everywhere and everything. His things are still here, but he is..."

"Dad," Mavis grimly called, "you don't think what happened to those other monsters happened to him, do you?"

"I don't know what to think," Drac said. "We can't brush that off as impossible, though."

"Any chance he went out to run some errands?" asked Mavis, desperate for something good to swallow.

"The television was left on, Mavey," Drac pointed out. "He would've turned it off if he simply went out."

Mavis sighed. "Yeah," she said. "If only he agreed to our offer to stay at the Hotel the last time we asked him, we'd have been able to protect him."

"Neither one of us could predict that this would happen. Besides, my old man is stubborn... But, I suppose it runs in the family."

Mavis giggled, saying, "Yeah, I suppose it does. Gosh, I really hope Dennis doesn't turn out like us. Stubbornness-wise, I mean. Not that there's anything wrong with us, but - "

"I get what you're saying," said Drac, nodding. "Still, better stubborn than a slacker."

"Might I remind you that you gave that certain slacker permission to marry your daughter," said Mavis, looking up at her father with a raised eyebrow.

"And I love that slacker, Mavey," Drac assured. "I'm just saying the world could benefit from someone else like us. Speaking of, did you know that your mother - "

"Wanted another child, but you thought I was already a big handful," finished Mavis. "Dad, I've lived with you for one-hundred-and-twenty-six years; there's not a single story you haven't told me."

"Right," chuckled Drac, nervously.

His nervousness made Mavis uneasy. All that told her was that Drac had more secrets. However, she knew that those secrets couldn't be hidden forever. Pure experience taught her that.

"Anyway," Mavis transitioned, "here. Check this out." She threw the red card at Drac, and it flew like a frisbee.

Dracula caught the card with one hand and inspected it.

"I don't remember that being a part of the invitations. The 'H' mean anything to you, Dad?" Mavis asked.

"I can't say it does," Drac admitted. "Perhaps it doesn't mean anything at all. Perhaps you're vampa is - "

"Vampa?"

"Vampire grandpa. Come on, Mavey, that's obvious. As I was saying, maybe your vampa is a weird collector. He could have hundreds of these things lying around."

"Dad, in situations like this, we can't brush anything off like that. That card means something. I'd put a stake in my heart for that fact."

"Okay, I get what you're saying."

Mavis got back on her feet. She folded the birthday invitation and put it in her pocket. Drac threw her the card - which she caught with one hand - and she placed it in the same pocket as the invitation.

"Too many questions, and not enough answers," muttered Mavis. "What in the rabies is going on?"

If someone close to her wasn't involved, Mavis would've almost been excited by the mystery. That wouldn't be the case it seems. The mystery had affected her personally, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it; not for the thrill, but for her family.

"I don't know," Drac answered, "but we are going to get to the bottom of this, Mavey." He approached her and put his hands over her shoulders.

"I'm sure we will," Mavis agreed with a nod and smile. "But in the meantime, I think we should cancel the party plans. I'm getting too old for these things anyway."

"Nonsense," asserted Drac. "We're too far into development to stop now. Besides, with monsters disappearing everywhere, we need the monsters at the Hotel to feel safe. To do that, we need them distracted."

"We can't just make them act like nothing bad is happening," said Mavis.

Admittedly, she was frightened herself. It took a lot to frighten a monster. However, nothing like the situation they were in has ever happened before. In the old days, the only reason for monsters disappearing was that they were killed by humans. That didn't happen anymore, obviously.

Her father was displaying the overprotectiveness he was infamous for. She couldn't blame him for wanting to keep the monsters as safe as possible, but keeping them distracted from the truth - she thought - was immoral.

"We're not going to make them think that nothing out of the ordinary is happening," clarified Drac. "They're monsters, not babies. I'm just saying that they shouldn't be thinking it's the end of the world. Neither should we."

 _He does have a point_ , Mavis thought

She knew firsthand how unpleasant it was to be lied to. She knew that ignorance wasn't necessarily bliss. However, as she matured, she understood where her father was coming from. She understood the motivations for the actions she once condemned. Now that she was put in his shoes, she couldn't deny the wisdom in his advice.

"Alright, I get what you're saying," said Mavis, nodding. "But, you better make this the best party ever, or I'm going to be upset. Heck, it needs to make Dennis jealous or else it's a failure."

"Do not worry, Mavey," Drac promised, smiling. "It will be lit."

"Yeah, it better - Wait, what? Lit?"

Dracula was incredibly confused by Mavis' confused look.

"Problem?" he asked.

"Not really..." Mavis lied. Sighing, she decided to explain to her father the irritation she had. "It's just really weird for you to say that."

"Is it not a popular term?" Dracula asked, confused. "I overheard some of the wolf-pups use that term."

"I guess it's popular among younger people," Mavis informed, "but you're in your five-hundreds. Heck, even I'm one-hundred-and-ten years too old to say it for it to not be weird."

"I really hate keeping up with the times, you know?"

"Do me a favor, Dad, and never say that in front of Dennis."

Dracula looked down at his feet. The flustered look he had in eyes during his banter with his daughter was gone. It was replaced by gloom.

"Does Denisovich know?" Drac asked in a quiet voice.

"What do you mean?" Mavis questioned with a raised eyebrow, needing clarification.

"Does Denisovich know about the disappearances?" Drac elaborated.

Mavis sighed and answered, "No, not yet."

She thought Dennis was too young to understand such dire events. Of course, she wasn't wrong. The child was six years old. All he should've been concerned with were his classes, his toys, and his family.

"Good," said Drac. He nodded at Mavis with approval. "I'd hate to see him upset. What about Johnny?"

"He's the one who told me," answered Mavis.

Johnny was much more connected to current events - of both humans and monsters alike - than she was. Once in a while, he liked to feel useful, and Mavis was more than happy to allow him to be.

She let out a deep sigh, looking back into Vlad's cave one last time. The stress was building up which was unfair because her birthday was coming up. It was the one time of year she shouldn't need to be stressed. However, she was a tad bit grateful because her father's responsibilities were quite heavier than hers. That was one of the things that made her admire Drac. He was always so busy, yet he never showed how his burdens weighed him down.

On the other hand, Drac was happy to take those responsibilities. No way would he let Mavis and Johnny take over his duties. He wanted his daughter and her family to live as happy of a life they can live, as would any father. He owed Martha that much. Besides, he was scared that someone else would get it wrong.

"So, what do we do now?" Mavis inquired.

"We go home," Drac said. "We be the best hosts we can be."

"We should at least make an attempt to look into this," opined Mavis.

"I'll have some of the staff go out there and see what's up," Drac offered. He had plenty of disposable goons who could get the job done. He just had to be careful to not call them "disposable" to their faces.

"If we're responsible for protecting them," Mavis continued, "then shouldn't we - "

"We are hotel people, Mavey," said Drac, calmly. "We are not detectives."

Mavis then asked, "Well, if we can't solve this thing, then who will?"

* * *

Al sat over the edge of the Empire State Building, just outside of the cages of the observation deck. It was night - the preferred time of day for a vampire. No one was around which was strange because it was a popular tourist spot. However, Al wasn't bothered by it. He liked the privacy. He didn't have to pretend to be someone he wasn't. The wind was rough, but not any rougher than he was used to. However, he grew up learning how to be as slick as possible in dangerous situations, so it wasn't as if he was going to fall.

He wore what he always wore: black-and-white sneakers, navy blue jeans, a red-and-white-striped shirt under his black, un-zipped zipper jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his forearm. His short, messy, bed-head black hair rustled in the wind. His green eyes were fixated on his smartphone.

His phone vibrated and he looked at the name on the screen. Bringing the phone to his ear, he pressed the digital green button to answer.

"Hey, Ma," Al greeted. "Me? I'm just sitting atop skyscrapers and brooding - Y'know. Basic vampire stuff. We're out of the blood substitute? Yeah, I can pick some up. Any preference on what type? O negative? AB? Alright. I'll be right home. See you soon."

He slipped his phone into his pocket, and from his other pocket, he pulled out his earbuds. After spending a good half-minute trying to untangle the infernal things, he managed to straighten them out. He then took his phone and plugged in his earbuds. Opening the music app, he scrolled for a song he was in the mood for.

Al smiled as he chose the song. He always was a sucker for Queen. If you were to ask Al what mankind's greatest invention was, he would answer "classical rock." It was quite bizarre for Al to consider that music "classical," because it seemed like only yesterday that that genre of music was the most popular kind. He was immortal, though, so that was probably the problem.

" _Tonight_ ," Al said, mumbling along, " _I'm gonna have myself a real good time. / I feel alive / and the world is turning inside out, yeah! / I'm floating around in ecstasy._ "

Al closed his eyes and threw his arms to his side.

 _"So, don't stop me now. / Don't stop me now_."

He then jumped ten feet into the air, twisting and curling as he reached his maximum altitude. He was incredibly high above Manhattan, and he loved the feeling. He pitied the flightless humans as they could never have imagined the feeling of freedom flying gave.

"' _Cause I'm having a good time, having a good time!_ " exclaimed Al as he went into free fall.

" _I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies,_ " sang Al as he dropped towards the ground with his face first. He was committing a dangerous action with a smile on his face.

" _Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity,_ " Al sang as he transformed into a bat. In his bat form, he looked no different than any other vampire-turned-bat except his eyes were green.

Singing was a strong word for what he was doing. He was definitely saying the lyrics to the song, but he failed to hit every note. He was also doing it quite quietly. He was mumbling the lyrics as any person would do. He didn't want his voice to overpower his earbuds.

In bat form, his earbuds disappeared so he heard no music. However, he knew the lyrics to the song well enough to continue mumbling.

" _I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva,_ " said Al as he quickly descended in between the buildings and over the loud, busy, car-filled streets of New York.

 _"I'm gonna go, go -_ OH NO!"

Al wasn't paying enough attention. He was flying towards a bus, but he was too busy remembering the lyrics to pay attention. Were it not for the bus honking at him, he wouldn't have swerved out of the way. Luckily, at the last second, he spun right and barely dodged the bus.

Al turned his body around, flapping in the air, staring at the bus that was getting farther away from him.

"Hey, I'm flying here! I'm flying here!" called Al. He knew the bus driver couldn't hear him, but it was just habit. He learned the line from the humans.

"No way!" said a voice on the street.

There was a lot of chatter on the streets of New York, but Al's enhanced vampire hearing allowed him to single out the voice. From the sounds of it, it came from a young man.

Al turned toward the street to find - sure enough - a teenaged boy wearing jeans and a hoodie two-sizes-too-large staring up at him with awe.

"You're The Fang!" exclaimed the teenager.

Al wasn't worried about people paying them too much attention. A lot of people didn't believe in The Fang, although Al found that ridiculous because they were coexisting with monsters. All monsters and humans in New York who chose to believe in him knew that The Fang was a vampire. He wasn't being too secretive about his identity, either. He wanted people to believe in him because he was proof that monsters have progressed since the ancient days.

Although he was in a hurry to pick up some blood, Al reckoned that the kid deserved at least some recognition for his good eye. So, Al flew down towards the sidewalk where the teen stood among the crowd of busy people and transformed back into a humanoid.

If he were to transform in front of people like that years ago, there would've been a panic. However, in the years since monsters started coexisting with the humans, everyone has become numb to such feats. That served Al fine, though. He would've hated to be the center of attention all the time like that. He felt more comfortable around humans more than ever, along with most other monsters. This comfort they had was proven when Al saw a hairy, blue monster and a reptilian humanoid walk by as part of the crowd behind the boy.

"I'm The Fang," Al confirmed, holding out his hand. The teenager shook it rapidly. "Although, I really do hate that name. But, some guys called me it, and it stuck. How'd you recognize me, if you don't mind my asking?"

"There are few vampires living in NYC as it is. Besides, The Fang is reported to have green eyes. Dude, I'm a huge fan of you," gushed the teen. "You're - like - a hero. It was especially cool when you stopped those guys from robbing that bank with your stealth moves and stuff."

"Yes," said a weirded-out Al. "My 'stealth moves' are quite effective."

"Can I take a picture?"

"Uh... Sure?"

The teen took out his cell phone and opened the camera app. Al posed for the selfie which the teen happily took.

"Awesome," the teen said, looking at the photograph where only he was visible.

"Thank you very much, bleh, bleh-bleh," said the boy with a terrible Dracula impression.

Al let out a deep, disappointing sigh.

"I don't know where that came from," complained Al. "I don't say 'bleh, bleh-bleh.'"

Once again, Al transformed into a bat and took off. The teen, although he was just reprimanded, was still smiling.

It seems that he could never get away from the stereotypes of his people.

"Now, where was I?" Al asked himself. "Oh, right. _There's no stopping me."_

Music made being a vigilante fun. Whenever Al found criminals doing despicable things, he would always listen to music as he took them down. He loved to pretend he was in some cheesy action movie. Al liked to think that he was like Batman if Batman allowed himself to have fun.

He flew over a rooftop and transformed back into a humanoid. He landed on his feet and broke out into a sprint. The music continued to play in his ears so he sang along as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally transforming into a bat to get past a gap too large to jump through.

 _"I'm burning through the sky, yeah,"_ mumbled Al _. "Two-hundred degrees / That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit / I'm traveling at the speed of light. / I want to make a supersonic man out of you!"_

Due to Al's enhanced vampire hearing, he managed to hear a faint cry for help nearby. He stopped mumbling to himself to focus better.

He wished that he had clairvoyant eyes like other vampires did, but he didn't have them because no one taught him how to use that ability. He had to rely on his enhanced senses. He focused on the continuous cries and looked around. He saw that they were originating from a nearby alley.

Despite the man's cries for help, no one would come. It was an odd effect that Al observed humans to have: they always assume someone else would step up in their place. Al knew that no one would come to help the man if he didn't do it himself. As The Fang, he had a call to answer.

"And I thought tonight was going to be boring," Al said to himself. "This seems like a job for The Fang... Damn, that sounded so much cooler in my head."

"Why did I accept that name?" Al asked himself as he flew down towards the alley. "It's so cheesy and dumb. I should be called... The Widowmaker. No, too dark. The Shadow? No, too edgy. Although, I supposed The Fang is already pretty edgy. The Watcher? No, too creepy. Batman would be accurate, but it's taken."

He entered the alley and took a turn. Finally, the problem was spotted. A man wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and a ski mask cornered another man wearing typical white-collar attire. The armed man was getting closer to his victim with a knife. Al was sure that the victim had already wet his pants.

Heroicly, he transformed back into a humanoid on top of the assailant, falling on top of him and slamming him onto the ground. The surprise caused him to drop his knife which the victim instinctively kicked away.

"Thank you, sir," said the grateful victim.

"No problem," Al modestly stated. "I'm just doing my duty."

"You're him, aren't you?" said the man. "You're that Fang guy."

"The name is The Fang... Man," Alucard said, still confused as to what to call himself. He regretted it the moment he said it. The "Man" was added because Batman was on his mind.

"The Fang Man?" asked the victim.

"That sounds so stupid," insulted the mugger.

"Whatever," muttered Al. He then spoke more clearly; almost like a superhero. "Good sir, please go home and change your pants. Be careful next time you travel alone in the dangers of the dark night."

The victim thanked Al once again, and he scurried off and out of the alley.

"As for you," Al said, looking down at the mugger he still had his foot on, "I really don't have the time to tie you up and leave you to the police, so I'm just going to let you off with a warning."

It wasn't the most responsible thing for a vigilante to do, but Al truly believed that if the man learned from this experience, he would vomit at the thought of crime.

"What warning?" asked the mugger.

Al smiled. He knew exactly how to make sure the man learned his lesson.

He flew out of the alley with the mugger's clothes (minus the underwear). Al dropped the clothes off on a nearby rooftop of an apartment building and continued on his way.

"In about eight hours, he'll wake up almost completely nude," Al summarized. "Best. Warning. Ever. Now about the name... Wing of Justice? No, too long. Also, that's more for a bird. The Phantom? Oh, that sounds good. Probably taken, though. The Specter?"

He continued trying to name himself as he flew towards the monster-owned supermarket in Manhattan where any monster - and the occasional human - could go and fill their monster-grocery needs. They had it all from scream cheese to a vampire's blood substitute.

* * *

"So, that's the vigilante? The Fang?" said Grendel to his master.

The two observed Al traveling through the city from a distant rooftop. Al could not have suspected anything out of the ordinary, much less two people stalking him from a distance.

"His name is Alucard," said the master. "And yes, he is The Fang. Oh, that name is just so dumb. You'd think he pick something more creative."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Grendel confidently stated. "We take him the same way we took that old vampire."

"We're not here to take him," said the master. "We're here to break him."

"And how do you plan on doing that, sir?"

The mysterious master smiled and said, "We put a stake through his heart."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

 **Infinite Cypher presents**

 **Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties**

* * *

Author's Note:

Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment or review to let me know what you think.

Well, years after I finished my last story (Frozen: A Sky of Shadows), I'm finally back to writing. I've tried (and failed) to write a few more Frozen stories in the meantime, and although I was able to get a few chapters in, I ultimately gave up due to a lack of reader interest and even my own. So, I decided to take a long break.

I've renamed myself "Infinite Cypher" because "InfiniteAssassin" was really quite a silly and childish name. I'm older and more mature now, so I reckoned it was time for a name change.

Recently, I've been working on another Frozen story (which I'm much more interested in working in than previous stories) and already have a good handful of chapters completed and edited. However, I realized that the scale of that project was quite large (2 long sequels) and I needed a lot of commitment to get that story out there and finished.

I've decided to take a break on that project and work on this story, Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties. I found this franchise to be quite underrated and saw a lot of story potential. I also saw how few Hotel Transylvania stories were out there, so I decided that I should get my story out there.

Ciao.


	2. Keeper of the Son

**Chapter 2: Keeper of the Son**

Al transformed from a bat into a humanoid in front of his home. During the transformation, he managed to grab the grocery bags he held with his bat feet with his humanoid hands.

" _If you say that you are mine_ ," Al sang. " _I'll be here 'till the end of time._ "

The house was modest. It was a one story home made of stone and bricks (because it was made decades ago) and was about two-thousand square feet. Located in the North Fork of Suffolk County on Long Island, it was quite the distance away from the metropolis of New York City, but the distance didn't bother Al. As a vampire, traveling quickly was not a problem.

There weren't many people living around the home as they lived in a woodland area without any attractions and far away from the roads. This protected the privacy of the two vampires living there. It wasn't much and the location was lonely, but it was home for Al.

The house wasn't incredibly old-school. They had running water which was nice. Their electricity was consistently working. They also were able to get internet, television, and phone service there. Those were practically requirements for living in the twenty-first century.

" _So, you got to let me know / Should I stay or should I go."_

Al unlocked the door with the key they kept under the welcome mat which they ironically owned solely for the purpose of hiding a key. He then unplugged his earbuds and put them in his pocket. His mother despised earbuds; she was convinced that they could take a monster's soul.

The entrance immediately led into a kitchen to the right and a living room to the left. Straight ahead was a hallway that would lead to his bedroom and his mother's.

Al's mother was standing in the kitchen, seasoning two uncooked steaks.

She was dressed in what she normally wore in the twenty-first century: a black blouse with the bottom of it tucked under dark-green dress pants. Her shoulder-length, curly black hair was tied behind her neck. The green eyes she shared with her son were focused on the steaks.

"Hey, Ma," Al greeted as he entered the kitchen.

He placed his bag of groceries on the table and took out the blood substitute which was held in a milk carton. Then, he opened the refrigerator and placed it down next to the skinned mice and bug jelly.

She didn't make eye contact when she said in a stern voice, "Alucard..."

Her British accent was something Al did not inherit.

"Uh-oh," said Al as he started unpacking the groceries. "You only call me that when I'm in trouble. I'm a-hundred-and-twenty-one now, _Lucine_. Don't you think I'm too old to get lectures."

He knew she hated it when he referred to her by her name.

"Still not old enough, evidently," Lucine scolded. "You know I don't approve of this vigilante business you're doing; it makes you too late for dinner."

"Everything is fine, Ma," assured Al. "I'm not getting hurt, and I'm helping the humans. Everybody wins in the end. I'm not bored, and the humans love us more."

"The humans don't need our help," Lucine said. "They're doing just fine without The Fang out there every night doing the police's work. By the way... Darling, you know I love you, but The Fang sounds really, really stupid."

"So I've been told," muttered Al. He sighed with disappointment.

"Also," continued Lucine, "since when did you care so much about the approval of humans? I know I raised you not to hate them - unlike other monsters - but I hate to break it to you that they won't love you the way they love Frankenstein."

"Well, never say never," Al said as he leaned against the kitchen counter, observing his mother prepare the meal.

He started to evaluate his motives and goals. Al was never the type to think about his psyche. He always just went with his gut. Now that he had to explain himself, he was having trouble coming up with what to say because he never thought about it.

"You told me Dad was human," Al reminded. "Obviously, I never met the guy. So, helping out the humans at night is... I don't know. My strange little way of connecting to my father and keep in touch with my heritage."

"Mm-hm" was the sound Lucine made.

She seemed quite distant. Al always noticed that about her whenever they talked about his father. They rarely talked about him in the one-hundred-and-twenty-one years Al had been alive, and whenever they did, Lucine would say little. Al knew from a young age that his memory was too painful for his mother to remember, so he rarely asked.

Al always credited his human blood to his inability to use certain vampire abilities such as clairvoyance and telekinesis. His mother never confirmed nor denied that theory, which concerned Al for a while, but he reckoned that there was nothing he nor her could do to unlock those abilities. She couldn't use them herself, so how could she teach Al to?

"Enough sappiness out of me," Al asserted, trying to transition to another topic. "Stop me next time I get that deep and philosophical."

"Oh, but darling, you sounded so smart," she teased.

After she finished seasoning the steaks, she placed each one on a different plate she had prepared. Then, she handed Al the plate. He licked his lips, pulled out a fork and knife from the utensils drawer nearby, and started eating the steak raw. His hunger could not wait for him to pull up a chair so he ate standing.

"Just as you made it a century ago," Al complimented as he chewed.

"Of course," Lucine confidently said. "I've been cooking steaks since before this country existed."

"You know, Ma... I've been thinking."

"You should be eating."

"Whatever. Anyway, I go to the city every night, but it's been a few years since I've seen you do something exciting."

"Where are you going with this?" Lucine asked with a warm smile. She gently placed her knife and fork down over her plate.

"I've been thinking it's about time we went on vacation," Al suggested.

"No offense, Al, but my idea of vacation is relaxing someplace far away from you where I don't have to put up with your antics."

"Way to put a stake through my heart, Ma."

Lucine chuckled and asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"Ma, you're not going to like this, but hear me out. I find it weird that I've never been to Hotel Transylvania," Al said. "I was hoping we could go there and see what all the fuss is about."

Lucine's genial look transformed into one that was much less friendly.

"Alucard, did you ever listen to me when I tell you about that place?" Lucine scolded. "Transylvania is where I lost your father; I can't go back there."

"But my name is literally Dracula backwards," Al reminded (as if his mother needed reminding). "He _runs_ the Hotel. Surely, he's a reason to go."

"I named you after him in hopes that you'd achieve the amount of respect that all monsters give him," Lucine said. "But he's no more of a reason to go to Transylvania than the trees that grow there."

Al could understand where his mother was coming from, but he could not comprehend how her hesitation could apply to him. He longed to see the most famous gathering place for monsters all over the world. He could always tell when his mother was hiding something, and he intended to figure out what.

"At least give me your blessing to go," Al requested.

He was an adult and - traditionally - adults didn't need permission, but he grew up giving his mother the utmost respect. If she forbade him from doing something, he wouldn't do it. It was strange that being a vigilante was acceptable but vacationing at Hotel Transylvania was not.

Lucine sighed. "Alucard, I intend to tell you everything when the time is right, but when I do, I don't know what _you'll_ do. But - right now - I don't think there's a place for drama. Surely you've heard of the disappearing monsters. The world isn't as safe as it was for us. I'd like to keep you close, and - "

"I don't need protection, Ma," Al argued. He said it quite rudely, which Lucine did not like very much. "Neither do you. We're fine living out here where it's far away from anyone who could hurt us - assuming of course anyone does want to hurt us - and no one knows where we live."

"I don't know why we haven't had this conversation before," Al ranted. "You'd let me go anywhere in the world except Transylvania - the safest place for any monster. I know you have your reasons, but you forget that I know you well. You say you won't go back because it's where Dad died, but you're stronger than that for it to be a reason. You say 'when the time is right,' and I say the time is right _now_."

Al stared down his mother. Never before in his life has he been so hostile to Lucine, but he didn't care about that at that moment. All he cared about was the truth, and that his mother was being an obstacle for him.

"And I thought your moody days were over forty years ago," said Lucine.

Before Al could reply, they heard three knocks on their door. Both of them turned towards the sound, and then they both looked at each other.

"'No one knows where we live,' huh?" Lucine mocked.

"This isn't over," Al promised as he left the kitchen counter towards the door.

His mother continued to eat her raw meat in silence as Al looked through the keyhole. What he saw gave him comfort: a middle-aged man with a familiar, clean-shaven face, brown eyes, a large nose, wide but thin lips, creases all over his forehead with bushy sideburns and wearing a black, buttoned-up coat, a black fedora, brown dress shoes, and black dress pants.

"Who is it?" Lucine questioned.

"It's Jackal," Al answered.

He then opened the door, meeting Jackal's eyes.

"Ah," Jackal said with an Edinburgh accent. "Fancy meeting you here, Al."

"Jackal," Al greeted.

"It's _Doctor_ Jackal," Jackal corrected. "I've worked hard for that name, and I would prefer that you use it."

"Come right in, _Doc_ ," Al offered, obviously annoyed. He stepped to the side, giving Jackal room to enter. The doctor happily entered the home, removing his fedora.

"You must be the Lady Lucine," Jackal greeted, with a bow. "Doctor Henrick Jackal, at your service."

Lucine left her steak and approached Jackal. She held out her hand for him to shake, but instead he bent down and kissed it.

"Alucard has mentioned you a few times before," Lucine revealed. She then asked, "Remind me again how you're acquainted."

"Oh, of course," Jackal said. "I am the first human - as far as we know - to research monsters socially and scientifically. I hope to be able to treat monsters medically in the future on a wider scale using human techniques."

"Definitely ambitious," Lucine complimented.

"I once patched up your son after he had a scuffle with a hydra," continued Jackal. "It turned out that he was The Fang - a name which I do not personally approve of - and I decided to help him in his endeavors as a vigilante. My connections allow me to get information on both humans and monsters, and if there's anything quite alarming, I pass it on to him."

"And what's in it for you?" she asked.

"As I've said before, I plan to advance human medicinal practices for monster application. My job allows for cooperation with monsters, so my reputation will be stronger by doing this. Furthermore, Al will occasionally bring a hurt monster to my office where I can study and try to treat them. If I recall correctly, there are few monster doctors because most monsters heal gradually."

"You sound so generous," Lucine said. "However, I cant imagine doing things gratis pays the bills at home."

"Part time, Lucine," Jackal informed. "Anyway, you must be wondering how I know you live here and why I've come."

"That has crossed my mind, yes," confirmed Al.

"Well, I called in a favor from a werewolf friend of mine," revealed Jackal. "The 'why' is a little more complicated."

"Well, you came all the way here to tell us something," Lucine pointed out, "so go on. Stop leaving us in suspense."

Jackal took a deep breath, looked down in his shoes, and then he looked back at Al and his mother.

"It has to do with the recent disappearances," Jackal elaborated. "There's someone back in the city who claims to know exactly what's happening."

Al and Lucine nearly jumped in surprise. They were not expecting any news to come out of the disappearances, much less becoming personally involved in the events.

"Who is saying this, and what exactly does he know?" Al asked.

"He's a yeti," Jackal answered. "He didn't tell me his name. He limped into my clinic, hurt and scared. He told me that he knew who was behind the disappearances, and when I asked him about it, he refused to tell me. He asked for The Fang because he believed you'd be the only one who could protect him."

"Okay, that explains why you need Al. However, why didn't you just call my son instead of driving all the way over here?" Lucine asked.

"That's not important," dismissed Jackal.

"You dropped your phone in the toilet again, didn't you?" Al guessed.

"Possibly," Jackal answered. "But that's not the point! A monster's life is in danger."

"Alright, calm down," ordered Al. "We don't know what's going on, so we can't assume his life is in danger. I suppose, though, that it _is_ my responsibliliy to talk to him. The monster is still at your clinic, yes?"

Jackal nodded.

"Then we go there right now and see what's up," Al suggested.

"Of course," agreed Jackal.

"Wait just a minute," Lucine requested.

Al groaned and turned his heel to face his mother. Her hands were on her hips, so he knew she was concerned.

"Alucard, you're getting involved in things you shouldn't be getting involved in," lectured Lucine.

"Oh boy," Al sarcastically remarked. "Here we go."

"Don't use that tone on me, young man," Lucine ordered. "I'm looking out for what's best for you."

"Ma, everything is going to be fine," Al assured. Al wished he had a penny for every time he said that to her. "No one is getting hurt except the people that may be doing this to us."

"Us?" Lucine asked, scoffing. "We're fine as we are. Something tells me that once you kick the hornets nest, there is no going back to the way we have it now."

"I'll just wait by the car," Jackal whispered. He then - feeling incredibly awkward - showed himself the way out.

"Again with your stupid metaphors," Al complained. "Maybe I don't like the way things are now. Maybe the reason I go out at night and help the humans is because there's nothing else to do because you won't let me do anything I want to do!" His quick rant was said in less than a few seconds, and he did not stop to take a breath.

"You know that's not true, Alucard," Lucine said. "You're looking at things like a child. This world - our history - is more complex than you think it is."

"Again with the goddamn vagueness," groaned Al. "If you want me to understand, then help me understand! After all of these years, you still won't tell me everything."

"Because you're not ready for it," Lucine barked, "and I know I'm right because you're just going to go out and do something stupid. Again."

"Protecting monsters is stupid?" Al questioned, rhetorically. "Do you not care what happens to our people?"

"Of course I care," Lucine replied.

"So excuse me while I go save the day," Al said.

"That's not what you're doing," said Lucine. "Think about it for just a second. No one before has had any information on the missing monsters. There's a reason for that: the people behind this - and I'm pretty sure there are people behind this - obviously don't want anyone squealing. Now, there's someone with information. Do you honestly expect them to leave him alone to blab to the whole world about what he knows? He's a target, and if you try to protect him, that'll make you a target to."

"I'm The Fang," Al reminded. "I'm a vampire. I can take care of myself."

"Damn it, Al, that arrogance is going to get you killed," Lucine angrily predicted. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"Just like how you tried to protect Dad? What a damn fine protector you turned out to be."

"I don't want to lose you," Lucine revealed. "Don't let your damn recklessness leave me alone in - "

"I'm not yours to lose," Al retorted.

Lucine gave her son a cold stare. She didn't speak up. She didn't make a sound. Al could feel the rage inside of her, and in his opinion, her rage paled in comparison to his own.

"I don't _need_ your protection," Al coldly stated. "I don't _want_ your protection. For more than a century, you've prevented me from living my own life the way I wanted to live it. That ends today; right now. I'm going to go back to the city and listen to what this yeti has to say. Then, I'm going to stop this once and for all and that's how I'll make my mark in this world... and when this is all over, I'm going to see Hotel Transylvania _without_ you.

Al turned from his mother to leave. He gripped the handle to the door which led outside. He hesitated. However, not because of regret.

He turned to face his mother again.

"You know?" Al said. "Not too long ago, I believed that you did all you did because you cared about me and wanted what was best for me. I see now that all you ever really wanted to do was to protect _yourself_ ; running from the past you couldn't face. Goodbye, mother."

Lucine watched in sadness as her son opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. She noticed him look down at the welcome mat they had for quick second, but he continued to storm to Jackal's car immediately after.

Outside, Al saw Jackal sitting in the passenger seat of his car. Angrily, he approached the driver's door, opened it, got inside, and closed the door.

"You got things sorted out?" Jackal asked.

"Not even remotely," answered Al, looking through the windshield.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jackal said. "I hope you're okay."

"Having the time of my life," Al sarcastically said.

"Listen: she'll get over it," Jackal assured.

"Honestly, I don't give a chimera's crap if she does or doesn't," said a bitter Al. "Let's just get to the yeti."

"Of course," obliged Jackal.

They waited in silence for thirty seconds.

"Uh," Jackal started, "are you going to drive?"

"I don't know how to drive," revealed Al. "Don't know why I got into this seat."

Normally, Al would offer to fly Jackal back to the city. However, Al knew that Jackal had a fear of heights, and Jackal's car would need to be transported back somehow. Although it was slower, driving was more practical.

Jackal sighed. "Sorry for assuming," he said. "Alright, I'll drive."

"Do it quickly," ordered Al. "The sun will be up in a few hours and I forgot to buy sunscreen."

Lucine watched from the kitchen window as they switched seats and drove off. She then walked toward the entrance and opened the door.

By letting out a deep sigh, she calmed herself. Alucard didn't mean what he said, surely. Lucine knew her son too well. However, she couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty. She reckoned that, in a way, it really was all her fault.

Those thoughts escaped her mind when she looked down at the welcome mat. Nothing but curiosity took place in her thoughts.

She bent down to pick up the red card with the golden "H" sitting on the mat.

* * *

"Now, if everyone would get in an orderly line, that would make it so much easier for us to check you in."

Mavis' pleas were going unheard as countless monsters who were crowded around were raising their hands, claws, tentacles, and paws in the air to get noticed by Dracula working the front desk. Beside him was Johnny who was desperately looking for the right keys to give to each guest whom Dracula checked in.

"Are you sure we have enough rooms for everyone?" Johnny asked his father-in-law.

"Please," said Dracula, "this place was built to accommodate a thousand monsters for every year my father has been alive... That was an exaggeration, by the way."

"Then why is this getting so difficult?" Johnny asked as he almost fell off of the stool he needed to reach some of the keys.

"Obviously," Dracula started as he checked in a family of reptilian humanoids, "I've never needed to accommodate so many people before. In the century-and-a-fifth this place has been open, I've never seen so many monsters - Not even at one of Mavis' parties."

"Dad," Mavis called as she left her post and reached the front desk.

Mavis had to squeeze through the crowd of monsters in order to see her father. She wasn't sure if her father heard her; she couldn't even hear her own thoughts.

"I don't think I can help as crowd control," Mavis told Dracula.

Drac quickly transformed into a bat and hovered into the air, overlooking the monsters in front of him. He thought he knew how bad it was, but he was completely wrong.

From the front desk to the rotating doors that opened into the outside world, dozens if not hundreds of monsters were crowded together in what was supposed to be a line. Who knew how many were outside? At least they left the left and right sides of the lobby alone so humans and monsters could mingle and do whatever business they needed to finish. However, that didn't mean the sides of the lobby were empty; far from it, in fact.

Dracula transformed back into a humanoid and rooked at his daughter.

"You're right," he said. "Go to the kitchen and ask the chefs to prepare snacks for the guests in line. Hungry monsters may make mistakes which will set us back centuries."

"On it," Mavis said. She then transformed into a bat and flew off.

Drac groaned and said, "At this rate, we'll be finished by morning."

Johnny finally fell from his stool, hitting the ground with a loud crashing noise. Drac paid him no attention: he knew he was alright. The slacker got up from the ground, rubbing his head.

"Maybe we should get more people to help us out here," Johnny suggested.

"No," Drac said - he had another thing in mind. "We're done here. Clifton!"

The zombie slowly made his way to the side-entrance of the front desk from wherever he was.

"Johnny and I are through," said Drac. "Get your best guys and handle the front desk."

"Grhgrhargh," mumbled Clifton as he took Drac's place.

Drac didn't care whether or not Clifton was accepting the job or complaining. He hid his body under his cloak and slipped away from the front desk. Johnny jogged after him.

"There hasn't been a human to check into the Hotel in a while," Johnny pointed out.

Dracula turned his head to look at Johnny and said, "That's because humans aren't mysteriously disappearing. These monsters are scared, Johnny."

"And the humans are avoiding this place because they're scared of being affiliated with missing monsters that will put them in harm's way," Johnny summed up. He wasn't the brightest bulb, but he knew a thing or two about the human psyche.

"Eight years of social advancement down the drain," Dracula sadly stated. "Do we know how many monsters have gone missing?"

"I'm not sure," Johnny admitted, "but I know for sure that around a dozen vampires have gone missing - including Vlad - as well as five of those reptilian guys who came here a lot. What else...? A harpy, a minotaur, a handful of gorgons, and about twenty of those really hairy monsters which I don't know what to call."

"Each one of them has a preference," Drac stated. "You call one of them one thing, and another gets offended."

"I guess," Johnny said, not sure of how to respond to that. "Anyway, those are the ones I know of, but I'm sure there are - "

"Drac!" called out a voice from the crowd.

Squeezing and pushing his way through the sea of creatures was the big, blue giant commonly referred to as Frankenstein, although he was technically Frankenstein's monster.

"Hey, Frank," Johnny greeted.

"What's going on, my friend?" Drac asked.

Frank was panting as he bent down and placed his hands on his knees. He was trying his best to catch his breath.

"It's your dog," Frank revealed. "Dennis took him outside to pee, but he saw the Bones family waiting out there."

Drac's eyes widened as he remembered the last time Tinkles the Giant Puppy saw the skeletal family. It did not turn out well for anyone except for the four-legged beast.

"Johnny," Drac ordered, "get the steaks and get outside."

"On it," Johnny said as he saluted his father-in-law. He then ran off to the direction the kitchen was located to search for the wheelbarrow of meat they kept for Tinkles.

On his way, he encountered Mavis in her humanoid form returning from her duty.

"Hi, hon," said Johnny as he zoomed past her.

She raised her eyebrow and turned back to look at him. Obviously, she was incredibly confused as to what was happening.

"Honey, what are you doing?" Mavis questioned.

"No time to talk," Johnny insisted.

Mavis gave her signature confused look, but ultimately, she shrugged it off. A lot of strange things happened in the Hotel, especially with her family. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised.

She found her father who stood away from the crowd speaking to Frankenstein. As she approached him, she caught him saying, "Where is Denisovich?"

"Last I saw him, Wayne had him," Frank answered.

"What's this about Dennis?" Mavis asked the two.

They were surprised to find Mavis speaking to them - Especially Drac because he assumed she'd take longer to do her job.

"The kid took Tinkles out for a tinkle through the slide you guys had built," Frank answered.

Ever since Drac gave Dennis Tinkles months ago, they had a slide built within the hidden passages of the Hotel. It led from Mavis, Johnny, and Dennis's home to the outside of the Hotel. That way, taking Tinkles out to go potty would be much easier and quicker. They also avoided monsters and humans who wouldn't want to be bothered by a giant puppy.

"Unfortunately, the Bones family is outside," Dracula revealed.

Mavis sighed, rubbed her forehead, and said, "Not this again."

"I know, right," said a shocked Drac. "To think they'd have learned from last time."

"To think _we'd_ have learned from last time," Mavis corrected.

She then widened both of her eyes in concern. Ever since she became a mother, she has been doing that at least once a week. Everyone knew what was on her mind when she made that expression. It was always followed by...

"Where's Dennis?!" Mavis asked.

In her defense, that wasn't necessarily an unreasonable question to ask. A parent always had to look after their child.

"Don't worry, I've got him right here," said a familiar voice.

Once again, they turned to focus their attention from someone coming out of the crowd. They saw Wayne the Werewolf make his way out of the line of monsters. As always, he had a few wolf pups jumping around him and on him, with one of them resting on his head and gnawing on his ear. Walking next to Wayne was little Dennis who was barefoot and in his pajamas.

Dennis smiled when he saw his mother. She smiled back and approached him with arms open. He reciprocated the motion and hugged her tightly. Mavis picked him up and held him up against her, letting him sit on her forearm. She used her other arm to keep a good hold on him.

"What happened, sweetie?" Mavis asked her son.

"Tinkles had to go potty," Dennis answered, "so I took him out like you showed me to. But, when we were outside, he went crazy cebause of the skeletons."

"Are you alright, though?" Mavis asked. She could've cared less about what Dennis did.

"I'm okay," Dennis answered. "I just want Tinkles to stop going crazy."

"Don't worry, Denisovich," assured Drac. "We'll make everything okay."

Drac then dashed to Wayne who was caught by surprise.

"Who do we have controlling the dog right now?" Drac asked.

"Griffin is out there," Wayne answered, "but 'control' is a strong word."

* * *

"I command you to stop!" ordered the Invisible Man to the dog running around the courtyard, chasing around the Bones family. Each and every member was running around the courtyard trying to escape their torture. Tinkles had his eyes set on the largest one in the family.

The guests waiting in the long line made sure to stand away from the circular courtyard because they had no intention of getting trampled by the beast.

Griffin ran to where he predicted the dog would run to. There, he yelled "Stop" and raised his invisible hand out in front of him.

Needless to say, he got trampled.

* * *

"Alright Dennis," Mavis said, "as Daddy and Papa Drac take care of Tinkles, you and I are going back to the room."

"I'm not tired anymore, Mommy," Dennis said as he blinked and yawned.

"Of course you're not," said a skeptical Mavis. "Don't forget you have your classes in the morning, so we're going up, little man."

Dennis yawned again and waved goodbye to Drac, Frank, and Wayne as his mother carried him away. Mavis - herself - turned and smiled at her father and honorary uncles.

"They're so cute when they're young," Frank said.

"You'd be surprised," Wayne muttered. He loved his infinite amount of children, but they all stopped being cute ever since they discovered sugar.

"Back to business, boys," ordered Drac. "Okay, Johnny is currently getting treats to stop Tinkles, and Griffin is outside trying to contain the situation. You guys are here with me, so that leaves Murray. Where is Murray?"

Wayne and Frank gave each other a quick glance before focusing on Drac.

"Haven't you noticed?" Frank asked.

"Murray hasn't checked in yet," revealed Wayne.

"In fact," Frank sadly said, "we haven't heard from him in quite a while."

* * *

"I should've known better!" Jackal exclaimed as he jogged around his messy clinic, looking for a sign for where the yeti might have gone.

Papers were scattered all over the floor of the reception area where Al was standing. Furniture was knocked over. The glass of the doors and windows were broken. Obviously, there was a break in.

Jackal looked in every room for any sign of the yeti, but he found none. He knew there would be none.

"I wouldn't drag you here for nothing," Jackal told Al. He stopped searching and met the vampire in the waiting room. "He was here not too long ago, and - "

"I believe you," Al replied. "Obviously, Doc, there's been a break-in. Do you have security cameras around?"

"Destroyed," Jackal revealed. "I don't think checking the footage will show us anything, either."

"It couldn't hurt to check it out," reasoned Al.

The doctor sighed in disappointment. "If only I had called someone to look after him, things might have been better."

"You'd have been putting that person at risk too," Al said. "If you stayed here with the yeti, who knows what would've happened to you?"

"Well, at least we have some idea of what's going on," stated Jackal.

Al nodded. "The missing monsters aren't just popping out of existence: someone is taking them. We know this for a fact, now. Ma was right to be suspicious..."

"Let's not assume it's just one person," Jackal corrected. "To be so quiet about kidnapping countless monsters can only mean we're dealing with a group of skilled people. Do you think they're monsters or human?"

"I can't say just yet," Al answered.

Jackal nodded. He completely understood where Al was coming from. They had little evidence. All they really had was a theory.

When the doctor looked at the mess on his floor, something conspicuous caught his eye. He bent down to pick up the red card which stood out among the papers.

"What do you make of this?" Jackal asked Al. He then threw the card at Alucard who caught it with one hand.

The vampire turned the card over to find a golden "H" on the red.

Al's heart began to beat frantically.

"Are you sure it's not yours?" Al asked Jackal.

"Positive," answered the doctor. "You look unnerved. Are you okay?"

"I saw a card like this on the welcome mat back home," Al revealed. "I thought it was just a business card or something. I was wrong... It's a goddamn calling card."

He then transformed into a bat and flew out of the clinic's broken-open window.

Jackal ran to the window, stuck his head out, and called out to the vampire, asking, "What are you doing?"

Alucard had no time to explain. His mother was in danger.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you all liked the chapter. Please be sure to leave a review/comment to let me know what you think.

To those who may be unsure as to the tone of this story, let me explain it to you. Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties is darker in subject matter than the films, but it is not necessarily an incredibly dark and dire story. Tonally speaking, it should be a little darker than the films, but it still has elements of a family-friendly story such as humor and slapstick. Speaking of slapstick, the action in this story will - hopefully - be a good mix of slapstick and intense scenes.

I'm still getting used to writing fanfiction for a different story. As some may know, I wrote a trilogy of Frozen fanfiction a few years ago. This is my first attempt at writing something different, so please tell me if I'm doing a good job or not.

Ciao.


	3. The Stranger in the Night

**Chapter 3: The Stranger in the Night**

Al flew as quickly as he could and as high as he could. That way, he had a good view of the land of Suffolk County in front of him so he could prepare himself for what he would see at his house.

To keep himself from freaking out over the terrible possibilities of what could happen to his mother, he muttered the lyrics of a song to himself. He realized that it may not have been appropriate to sing in times of distress, much less singing a song which did not thematically match his situation, but it was how Al always stayed grounded.

" _This is Ground Control to Major Tom,_ " sang Al. " _You've really made the grade._ "

From his location, he was able to see the smoke in the distance. Because he lived in such a forested area, Al reckoned that the fire was one of two things: a tree or his home. Given his situation, he had a feeling it was the latter.

 _"And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear."_

He didn't want to believe it, but there was no doubt in his mind that the fire was coming from his home. This was because he knew what the area around his house looked like from high above, and everything was in place to prove that the fire came from home.

" _Now it's time to leave the capsule if you_ \- Goddamnit!"

Al continuously cursed himself; he was saying cursed words that would've made his mother disown him. Of course, that was assuming she was still alive and haven't already disowned him. He blamed himself for all that was happening to her. In his anger, he couldn't do what was best for his mother which was stick with her. He was so invested in how to satisfy his own cravings and desires.

In a way, he was paying the price for his mistakes. The real question was: Who was going to suffer more - Alucard or his mother?

He dived towards the flames which were yet to reach any trees. The forest was temporarily safe from a destructive inferno. The same could not be said for Lucine.

As Al reached his home, he transformed back into a humanoid, landing on both of his feet in front of his burning house. He could not see his mother anywhere around him, forcing him to think the worst has happened.

Al fell to his knees, and screamed at the top of his lungs, "MA!"

* * *

" _Suffer, suffer, scream in pain_ ," sang Mavis to Dennis as she tucked him into bed.

He was six years old already, but Mavis still felt the need to sing him a lullaby. To her, he would always be her little boy. It would, however, get awkward for her to keep on treating him like such when he catches up to her physically. As vampires, they'd look about the same age - equivalent to a human in their twenties - for a few centuries before showing any signs of getting older.

"Mommy, I'm all grown up now," Dennis argued. Too many times has Dennis told her that.

"Of course you are," Mavis sarcastically agreed. "Only grown ups have girlfriends."

"Winnie is _not_ my girlfriend," denied Dennis.

"Who said anything about Winnie?" Mavis teased. "But now that you mention it..."

Dennis groaned and covered himself under his blanket. Never before has Mavis seen her son so embarrassed. She thought such embarrassment was silly. Everyone at the Hotel knew that Dennis and Winnie were closer to each other than they let on - Everyone except Dennis and Winnie, it seemed.

While giggling, Mavis pulled the blanket over Dennis off. She found that he had disappeared. Any human mother would have been shocked, scared, and concerned over the sudden disappearance, but Mavis was far from such fear. She recalled playing similar games with her father when she was Dennis's age.

Mavis looked up from Dennis's race car bed to find him hanging from the ceiling in his bat form. He looked down at her with a look that said "I got you."

A grin appeared on Mavis's face, and afterward she told him, "Alright, Dennis, back to bed now."

She didn't expect him to sleep for long, however. He had woken up earlier to take Tinkles out, and that interrupted his uninterrupted sleep. The sun would be rising soon, and Dennis had school in the morning.

Dennis transformed back into a humanoid from the ceiling, allowing him to fall straight down towards his bed. When he made impact, he bounced upward. After the second bounce, he stopped and sat flat on his bed. Mavis smiled as she watched her son go up and down. What mother didn't enjoy their child having fun?

"Never enough fun, huh?" Mavis asked as she restarted the process of tucking Dennis in.

Dennis yawned, and said, "Mommy, can you tell me something?"

"Anything, sweetheart," answered Mavis.

"There are a lot of monsters coming to the Hotel," said Dennis. "Is there a holiday or something?"

Mavis's smile slowly faded as she thought about her next move. She never wanted her son to worry about the monsters who had gone missing. If he were to find out, he would enjoy his life a lot less until things got sorted out. Still, Mavis knew that Dennis was a smart kid, and she made sure to raise him up as such. She suspected that he would find out sooner or later.

Yet, Mavis could not bring herself to tell him. He would have too many questions; most of which, she would not have the answers for. She reckoned that she was protecting him rather than lying to him.

The similarity between her and her father could not be shaken from Mavis's mind. She clearly remembered the time when her father lied to her in an attempt to protect her. However, in her current situation, she felt as if she was doing right by Dennis.

"Papa Drac just has a bunch of special plans for my birthday party this year," she said. She wasn't technically lying.

"You're that special to all of the monsters?" Dennis asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Papa Drac seems to think so," Mavis answered as she kissed Dennis's nose. "Don't forget that you're important too, sweetie. Now, off to sleep. The sun is coming up soon, and you have to go to school. I'll see you in a few hours."

Mavis walked to the door that connected Dennis's room to the rest of the family-sized hotel room (which was technically an apartment).

"Goodnight, Mommy," said a yawning Dennis as Mavis turned off the light.

She then closed the door and was officially located in the living room. What she saw took her by surprise. Sleeping in the open center between the television and the couch in the living room was Tinkles. Mavis had no idea when he arrived, and she didn't even hear him come up from the passageways they had built just for Tinkles.

Sitting on the couch was Johnny, grinning and soaked in dog saliva.

"Hey, hon," Johnny greeted.

"Did Tinkles put you in his mouth?" Mavis asked as she sat down next to Johnny.

"For a second, but it was cool 'cause he spit me out right after," Johnny elaborated. "It worked out for the best 'cause I don't need a shower anymore."

Mavis took a quick sniff from where she was sitting. The face she made proved that she was revolted.

"No, you definitely need a shower," Mavis argued.

"Can it be in a bit?" Johnny requested. This confused Mavis as she had no idea why Johnny wouldn't want to get cleaned.

"We finally have some alone time," revealed Johnny.

Everything that happened to Johnny next happened very quickly. Mavis used her super speed, emitting a blue wisp, grabbed Johnny, and pulled him off of the couch.

"Woah!" exclaimed Johnny as he was pulled into the bathroom connected to the living room.

Before he knew it, he was naked in the shower with a convenient series of bubbles that engulfed his nether-regions. Mavis was in her bat form with a scrubbing tool in her feet which she used to scrub Johnny clean. The shower lasted less than thirty seconds, but Johnny was ultimately cleaned.

The next thing he knew was that he was sitting on the couch, fully clothed and wearing the set of clothes he most commonly wore. Mavis sat next to him, having reverted back into her normal form.

Mavis rested her head on his shoulder and grabbed one of his hands with both of hers.

"Alone at last," Mavis said, sighing in relief. She looked at the giant sleeping dog in front of them and said, "Y'know, _mostly_ alone."

"Just wait until Dennis stops living with us," pitched Johnny. "It'll just be you and me again."

"I love our kid, but I'll be counting down the days. What'll you think he'll do when he's all grown up?"

"Probably fulfill his dream of being a superhero. He has the powers. Besides, it's not like real superheroes are unheard of. I heard about this vigilante in New York they call The Fang."

"That's a dumb name."

"Totally," lied Johnny. He didn't expect his wife to be so negative of the name. He loved it. "Though, I guess I won't be as hip as I am now when little Dennis gets older."

Mavis took her head off of Johnny's shoulder and her loving demeanor was replaced with great concern.

"Johnny, you know I don't like talking about that," Mavis reminded.

"I know." Johnny nodded. "But we gotta talk about it sooner or later, hon. I'm not immortal like you guys. It turns out turning someone into a vampire is a myth, so unless you guys have a miracle up your sleeves, I'm gonna - "

Mavis leaned in to kiss her husband. This caught him by surprise, but he welcomed it. He had the same feeling he felt when Mavis kissed him for the first time on the dance floor during her one-hundred-and-eighteenth birthday party. Except this time, there was no overprotective father to keep the kiss from going on for longer.

"You're gonna be a good father, and a good husband," Mavis ordered. "Wherever it is you think you're going, forget about it. I don't care if you're not immortal, Johnny-stein. Whatever's ahead of us, we'll face it together."

Johnny took his wife's hands and gazed into her blue eyes. With a smile and nod, he confirmed to Mavis that he would be okay as long as she was okay.

"Let's talk about something else," Mavis requested. "Anything happen downstairs when I took Dennis up?"

"Besides the line that hasn't gone down, yet?" Johnny started. "No, I... Wait a minute. Actually, there was. Your dad caught me outside. He said he wanted to speak with you when you had time."

"What about?" Mavis asked.

Johnny thought for a second, and replied, "I think it's best if you ask him that yourself."

Mavis noticed the sadness in Johnny's eyes as he said that.

"Okay..." said Mavis, still unsure on what was bothering her husband. "Do you know where he is right now?"

"He said he was going to his room to sleep since the morning is almost here," answered Johnny.

"Well, if it's as important as I think it is, then he wouldn't mind if I asked him now."

Mavis kissed Johnny's cheek, stood up, and walked toward the exit to their home. As she opened the door, she turned back to give her husband a slight smile as a sort of farewell. Johnny smiled back and waved her goodbye.

* * *

Mavis stood in front of the door that led to Dracula's chamber. She knocked three times and said, "Dad, it's Mavis."

"Do not disturb," said the shrunken head attached to the door.

There was no reply. She reckoned that he was already asleep, and decided to knock and speak louder.

"Dad, wake up. You said you needed to talk to me."

Mavis found that incredibly odd. Vampires had enhanced senses which included enhanced hearing. Dracula was a healthy vampire in his prime, so his hearing should've been able to pick up her voice. However, that was not what was happening.

It was not possible that he simply wasn't in his room because if that were so, the shrunken head would not have warned Mavis to not disturb him.

"He is in there, right?" Mavis asked the shrunken head.

"Girl, I told you to not disturb, didn't I?" The shrunken heads were as sassy as ever. "It's my job to know, girl. It's the one thing I _can_ do, so don't you question my abilities."

"Alright, I'm sorry," apologized Mavis. "Is something wrong with him, though?"

"Woman, do I look all-knowing to you? If I was all-knowing, I wouldn't have trusted the guy who shrunk my head."

Mavis ripped off a piece of her top from the bottom, rolled it into a ball, and stuffed it into the shrunken head's mouth. She had plenty identical tops left, so a damaged one was insignificant.

Pressing her ear against the door, Mavis listened into what was happening inside the room. Something odd was definitely going on. She heard the sounds of chains rattling. As far as she knew, her father did not keep chains inside his chambers. Unless he made a last-minute change, there should be no reason she would be hearing that sound.

"Dad?!" Mavis asked pounding on the door and shaking the door knob. There was no reply.

Finally, Mavis decided she had enough. She pushed against the door with all of her might, and it broke open. Luckily, the hinges were still intact, so the door could easily be repaired.

Unfortunately for Mavis, the door was the least of her worries.

The person she saw standing a few meters before her was not her father. The physique of the person implied that it was a man. He was shorter than Dracula, which was a clear giveaway for Mavis that he for sure wasn't the Count. He wore an all black, forming fitting leather jumpsuit. No skin was showing at all. On his head was a black mask that covered all. She couldn't see his face from under the smooth, black screen of the mask.

He was stronger than his size implied. In his arms was Drac's coffin-bed; the coffin-bed - which Mavis assumed - contained her sleeping father. The coffin was wrapped in shiny metal chains. Mavis instantly recognized it as silver. Although it was one of the less famous and uncommonly used weakness for vampires, it was a weakness nonetheless.

She was unsure how he managed to sneak in and chain the coffin up without alerting Drac. It turned out his senses weren't as powerful as they used to be.

The stranger gently let down the coffin, knowing what was going to happen next.

Using her enhanced speed, Mavis sped with a blue wisp and charged towards the stranger. She grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the closest wall beside the coffin.

"Tell me who you are," Mavis demanded.

"That defeats the purpose of the mask," said the stranger. He then grabbed Mavis' wrists and pushed her away from him. She noticed how he was stronger than he looked. He definitely was not human.

His voice sounded filtered. It was barely comprehensible, and the pitch was deeper and more sinister than any natural voice.

She looked over at the open double-doors that led to the balcony which was connected to Drac's room. The wind was blowing the curtains that covered the doors. It was not hard to know how the assailant entered the room.

"What do you think you're doing with my father?" asked Mavis as she lunged at the stranger with a punch. He managed to step back to avoid the punch, and he countered by grabbing her arm and throwing her over his head.

Mavis was not expecting the throw, but she landed on her feet.

"Listen lady, there's a lot going on here which you don't understand," said the masked man. "I need Dracula for reasons you wouldn't understand. I'd rather not hurt you, so if you could please - "

Mavis used her speed with the wisp and appeared behind the man. He was not expecting the surprise attack. She kicked him in the back, sending him flying towards a wall a whole half-room away. No human alive could create such a powerful kick. However, in midair, he positioned himself so that he would impact feet first. When he did so, he launched himself off of the distant wall, somersaulted in midair, and landed on his feet.

 _He's quite agile, I'll give him that_ , thought Mavis.

"You're not taking him anywhere," Mavis threatened. She backed up near her father's coffin. With her eye still on the assailant, she bent down and tugged on the chains surrounding her father's coffin with one hand. As she expected, she felt a burning sensation in her hand; that was proof that the chains were, indeed, silver.

"Don't make me take you instead," he threatened.

She had no idea what that was supposed to imply.

She raised her fists in front of her and eyed the assailant as he slowly walked in a crescent around Mavis and the chained coffin. There was no way for her to tell what he was looking at or what he was thinking.

"This has to do with the missing monsters, doesn't it?" Mavis asked the assailant. "First my grandfather, and now my dad?"

"It's as I said," started the stranger.

He then lunged towards Mavis with a kick. She sidestepped and grabbed his leg. She pulled it back to make the stranger lose his balance, but he threw his other leg to the side over his grabbed leg, hitting Mavis in the side and sending her falling over to her left The stranger fell to the ground as well, but he was prepared, so he launched himself up.

"You wouldn't understand," finished the stranger. "I don't want to hurt you, believe me. None of this is personal. But, if you're going to keep getting in my way, I'll do what I have to do."

Mavis flipped herself up, and pointed her hand at the stranger. She wondered why she didn't just use her body immobilization technique earlier in the fight. With him frozen, she should've been able to take off the mask and take him as a prisoner.

However, he crossed his forearms in front of him - making an "X" shape - and the blue aura that appeared whenever someone was immobilized by Mavis appeared for a split second but vanished. The stranger was unharmed and definitely not frozen.

This caught Mavis by surprise. Never before has she seen that ability fail, and she was too busy thinking about how the man could've negated her abilities that she almost got hit in the face by the man's fist. She ducked the attack and attempted to uppercut the stranger. Unfortunately for her, he cupped his hands and pulled them down over Mavis's fist, blocking the attack.

Mavis then began a barrage of attacks. In a series of kicks and punches, she was able to force the assailant to take many back-steps.

"I understand that letting you take my father would be a _very_ bad thing," Mavis said.

After she landed a punch on his shoulder, he grabbed her arm and yanked her forward. During her stumble, he slipped behind her, was able to ring his arm around her neck, and used his other arm to grip the top of her head.

"This won't end well for you," warned the assailant.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Mavis asked as she transformed into a bat.

She slipped out of her opponent's grip which did not seem to worry him. She was the famous daughter of Dracula, after all. Only a fool would not see a transformation coming.

Drac's room was relatively empty of furniture, so Mavis couldn't use her telekinetic powers to throw anything at the stranger. There was the large portrait of her mother and Dracula that hung on a nearby wall, but she knew better than to mess with anything as precious to them as that painting.

In her bat form, she darted towards the stranger. She dodged the punch he threw at her, and managed to head-butt into his tummy. He wasn't weak, however. The attack merely sent him stepping back. He grabbed Mavis, and before he could squeeze, she turned back into a humanoid.

"Believe me when I say that I know every vampire trick in the book," said the stranger as he began his barrage of punches and kicks.

Mavis was in a bad position. She was able to block multiple attacks, but he was quick enough to land a few good hits. Before she was finally able to focus on sliding away with a wisp, she took a good punch to the cheek, arm, and gut.

She wasn't as combat-gifted as the stranger. Sure, her father taught her a thing or two about self-defense, but she rarely ever employed those techniques. Luckily for her, she was talented in what she _did_ know how to do. She proved herself in combat the year before when they faced-off against Bela's army of bat cronies.

She would've been lying if she said she wasn't hurt. Mavis ran the back of her hand against her mouth, wiping off the blood that dripped from it.

"Every trick in the book, huh?" Mavis asked.

She launched herself into the air. Luckily, the ceiling for Drac's chambers was high enough so that Mavis wouldn't hit her head when she launched. In the air, she readied her fist as a video game character would do, except Mavis wasn't necessarily powering up.

The assailant groaned. Before she could hit him, he swiftly stepped to the side. Mavis landed on her feet, kneeling one one knee, and punched the hard ground. With the advantage, the stranger kicked Mavis's back, sending her flying towards the same wall she power-kicked him towards earlier. She hit the wall with a loud thud and shook it. Dust drifted off of the stones.

Mavis had her eyes closed and face pressed against the ground. The stranger was seemingly victorious.

"Not bad," complimented the stranger. "Not good enough, though."

He turned away from Mavis and walked towards Drac's coffin. Once again, he picked it up and supported it with his forearms.

Too bad for the assailant that he couldn't hear Mavis speed towards him in her bat form. She slammed into the back of his head, sending him falling onto the ground face-first. He dropped Dracula's coffin, and it landed on the ground beside him with a loud thud.

"Urgh..." muttered the voice of Dracula within the coffin. "What's going on?"

"Dad!" Mavis called out.

"Mavey?" Drac asked. The coffin shook. Drac was obviously trying to get out. He had no idea about the silver chains that kept the coffin closed.

She transformed back into a humanoid as the assailant rubbed the back of his head when he got up.

"Dad, just hold on for a little longer," Mavis said. "There are chains around your bed, but I'm going to get you out."

"No, she won't," said the stranger.

He swung his leg up towards Mavis, but she ducked the attack. She answered his attack with a punch towards the chest, but he slapped her hand away.

They then began a furious cycle of attacks, blocks, and dodges. The stranger punched, Mavis blocked. Mavis kneed, the assailant got hit. He punched, she stepped back. She swung, he dodged.

Both were getting quite tired. Slowly, Mavis was being pushed back to the wall she slammed into earlier. He rammed into Mavis, holding his forearm against her throat. However, she wasn't feeling too much pressure. Mavis was breathing perfectly fine. The stranger wasn't lying when he said he didn't want to hurt her. Sure, she took a few hits earlier, but they weren't as life threatening as an arm to the throat.

The stranger shifted his foot to get a stronger position over Mavis. However, he felt his foot hit the edge of something. There was a skidding noise that came with it. The stranger looked down and found that he hit a cell phone with the screen on.

Mavis used this distraction to knee the stranger in the gut. That attack sent him bending down over his gut. Mavis then grabbed his shoulders and swung him to her side, slamming him against the wall.

She stepped back away from the wall and crossed her arms. He slid down next to the phone. He looked at the phone and found the picture of a human male with large, curly, red hair. The name "Johnny" appeared on the screen. Below the name, there was a timer that read "1:04" and continued to count upward.

When the stranger wasn't looking, Mavis called Johnny using her cell phone and muted him so the stranger wouldn't know a call was made.

"I was wondering why you didn't cry for help, earlier," said the stranger.

"Turns out you don't know every trick in the book," Mavis confidently stated. "Twenty-first century technology is so useful. It's over. Soon, my husband and friends will be here. You won't be able to take all of us down."

The stranger chuckled. Under his mask, it sounded very distorted and unintelligible.

"Maybe not," admitted the stranger. "There's always next time, though."

Slowly, he stood up, which Mavis allowed. She knew that there was little left he could do. The fight was practically over.

She saw his head turn towards Dracula's coffin. The Count was still hitting the cover, trying to get out. In one last attempt to succeed in his goal, he began to run towards the coffin. He was quick. Very quick. Mavis noticed the inhuman speed, but luckily, she also had inhuman speed.

Before he could pass to her left, Mavis balled her hand and threw it as hard as she could toward's the man's head. When her fist made contact, the mask cracked and shards flew off of it.

He fell to the ground, and groaned in pain. Mavis shook her hand. It hurt so much to punch something solid with such force.

Mavis looked at the man. He eyed her as he got up from the ground. There was a hole in the mask which covered his left eye. Behind the jagged hole, she saw something more mundane than she was expecting. It was a green eye. Nothing about what little she could see behind the mask was unordinary.

 _Green eye_ , Mavis thought.

"Mavey!" Johnny's voice called from the hallway outside of the room.

She heard Wayne's voice ask, "You alright, kid?"

"In here!" Mavis called, turning her head towards the exit door.

"See you around," said the stranger. His voice was still filtered, even though the mask was somewhat broken.

"Huh?" Mavis asked.

She turned back to look at her opponent. Except, he was gone; there was no trace of any man. However, there was a bat which flew across the room, and Mavis was sure that the bat was him.

 _Of course he's a vampire,_ Mavis thought. She couldn't say that she was shocked. He claimed to know about vampire tricks. He was more resilient than any human. His physique was humanoid, and there were few monsters who resembled humans.

The bat flew through the open doors that led to the balcony. Mavis transformed herself and flew after him. She hovered over the balcony, looking for the bat. However, he seemingly disappeared. She then used her clairvoyance to aid her in her search, but even then, she could not find it.

The sun was beginning to rise. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to look for long. The stranger's clothing and mask would've easily protected him from sun damage.

Mavis cursed as she transformed back into a humanoid. From the balcony, she walked back into Drac's chambers. On the floor a few meters away from her, she found her cell phone. Mavis walked over to it and picked it up. Johnny, Wayne, Frank, and a floating pair of glasses entered the room.

"What happened?" Johnny asked as he hugged his wife. "When you called, it sounded like you were fighting someone. Looking at you now, I know for a fact you were throwing down. You okay?"

"I'm fine," Mavis confirmed.

"Mavis, you gotta tell us everything that happened," said Frank.

"Right." Mavis nodded. Johnny reached for her hand as she began the story. "I came here because Dad told Johnny that he needed to talk to me about something. The door was closed, but something seemed off. I broke in, and there was a masked guy dressed head-to-toe in black chaining his coffin with silver. I think the guy was a vampire."

"How'd you know he was a vampire?" Griffin asked.

"Because he turned into a bat and flew away," Mavis answered. "He didn't use many of his powers when we fought, though. Clearly, he didn't want me knowing he was a vampire."

"What'd he want?" Wayne asked.

Mavis pointed at her father's coffin. He was still pushing and complaining.

"I'll help him out," volunteered Frank. Silver didn't affect him as it would to a vampire or werewolf.

"This guy is involved with the disappearances," Mavis revealed. "He said that all he wanted was Dad, and that's there's a lot going on that I wouldn't understand. We fought, and I managed to sneak a call to Johnny in during the fight. He gave up and ran away when he heard you guys coming."

No one asked if she was sure of everything that happened, because they all trusted her judgment.

"Is there anything else you know about this guy?" Johnny asked.

Mavis shook her head. She reckoned the green eye part was inconsequential. There were plenty of vampires with green eyes.

Frank ripped off the chains to Drac's coffin. The lid flew off and Dracula sat upright. Frank was caught by surprise so he fell back onto his butt.

"Mavey, I heard you take a few hits there," Drac said rather quickly. "Go see the doctor."

"You think _I_ look bad?" Mavis smirked. "You should see the other guy."

"Didn't you say he was wearing a mask?" Wayne asked. "And dressed head-to-toe? How'd you know you got him good?"

"Don't take my moment away from me, Uncle Wayne," Mavis pleaded.

Of course Dracula prioritized his daughter's safety over his own. Despite him not knowing entirely what happened to him, Drac didn't seem at all concerned with his near kidnapping.

"Besides, the worst of it'll be a few bruises," Mavis assured. "You know there's a bigger problem than what happened to me."

Mavis looked at her uncles. If Dracula was so vulnerable, she dreaded to think about what could happen to them. They weren't nearly as powerful as Drac. She then found something very off about the group of people she was looking at.

"Where's Uncle Murray?" Mavis asked.

Frank, Wayne, and Griffin looked away from Mavis as if they were children being scolded by their mother. She felt Johnny's hand tighten around her's. She looked at him to find his sad eyes looking down at his feet.

"Sweetheart," Drac startec. She turned to look at her father who had the same look of sadness in his eyes. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. We believe... We believe that Murray has gone missing. If that guy truly is involved with this all, then we can assume he's been kidnapped."

Mavis' eyes widened. So much in her life was going downhill in such little time.

"First, Grandpa Vlad," Mavis muttered. Everyone heard her clearly, however. "Then, Uncle Murray. Next, they tried to get you. Who's next? Me? Dennis? Wait... DENNIS!"

Mavis transformed into a bat and darted toward the open balcony. She realized that Dennis was alone in their home with a kidnapper on the loose. All they had was a sleeping dog to guard him. However, even Tinkles could be beaten.

"Mavis, wait!" Drac exclaimed as he transformed and chased after her.

The sun was barely starting to rise. She reckoned that she was still safe as she flew outside. Of course, she knew where her room was located outside relative to Drac's room. The double window pans were slightly ajar, making it easy for Mavis to slip through. However, when she saw that her home wasn't entirely closed out from the outside, she began to worry.

As soon as she could, she transformed into a humanoid.

"Dennis!" she called.

Although Tinkles was still sleeping in the living room, she couldn't take that as a guarantee that Dennis was alright.

Mavis sprinted to Dennis's room and opened the door. What she saw gave her great relief: the boy was peacefully sleeping. However, the sounds she made on her way to him made him slowly open his eyes. He looked over to his mother.

"Is it time to get up already?" Dennis asked.

Mavis sighed in relief. She approached her son's bed, picked him up, and then hugged him. At that moment, Dracula peeked into the bedroom and was just as relieved as she was.

"You're never going to be away from me again," promised Mavis.

Drac approached his daughter and grandson and joined in on the hug.

The stranger clearly had not intended to go after Dennis. Perhaps he didn't know about Dennis. Mavis couldn't help but think about how the stranger mentioned he would've been willing to take Mavis instead of her father. She wondered what that would mean. Why them specifically? What was going on?

"Let's get him downstairs," said Mavis.

"Right," Drac agreed.

* * *

Alucard sat criss-crossed under the shade of a tree that grew atop of the cliff that overlooked the stone bridged that led to Hotel Transylvania. Sitting against the tree was the backpack he brought with him which contained a few more sets of identical clothing and everything a vampire needed to survive under the sun.

From his position, he had a great view of the entire building. The sun was up over the horizon, but Al was in no danger from the direct sunlight at that moment.

"So this is Hotel Transylvania," Al muttered to himself. "It's a lot smaller than I imagined."

He had planned on entering the Hotel after the sun went down. He didn't want to suffer and burn from the sun, although he would surely make it there alive. Furthermore, monsters were generally night-people, so he doubted any important figure would be up in the morning.

However, there was no time to wait. Al needed to speak with Count Dracula urgently. Even if he was asleep, Al was sure the information he had would be important enough to keep the Count awake.

"Forget it," muttered Al was he transformed into a bat and grabbed his backpack. He flew towards the Hotel, over the bridge as quick as he could to make sure he would beat the rising sun.

"This is for you, Ma."

 **To be continued**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think!

Obviously, the timeline of Alucard's story is jumping around a bit. Don't worry, it'll all make sense soon.

I know that my chapters are rather long (a bit more than 6,000 words each), but I have created an outline for myself which makes me fit in a few important events every chapter.

I'd like to emphasize the importance of reviews. To me, reviews are more important than viewers and followers. They let me know what my readers are loving about the story which gives me motivation to keep on writing. They give me constructive criticism which allows me to change my writing style or the direction of the story. So please, review if you can. You have no idea how appreciated they are.

Ciao.


	4. A Warm Welcome (Mostly)

**A Warm Welcome (Mostly)**

* * *

"Woah," whispered Al as he walked through the spinning glass doors into the Hotel lobby. Playing on his earbuds was Rupert Holmes's song, Escape (most commonly known as The Piña Colada song). A ballad such as that wasn't entirely appropriate given his situation, but Al didn't feel like changing the song.

He was not expecting how grand it would all be. Sure, he's seen photos posted by vacationers online, but those could not compare to the magnificence of it all.

He saw many monsters gathered all around the lobby in small groups. Although he was interested in hearing what they were saying, using enhanced vampire hearing to eavesdrop would've been one of the greatest violations of privacy he could commit.

Unfortunately, Al could not find anyone resembling Dracula. Sure, he had no idea what Dracula looked like (given how there were only so many ways to take an accurate picture of a vampire), but he knew what the Count was supposed to look like. Unless Dracula was a human with red-curly hair - like the man Al saw at the receptionist table - Dracula wasn't in the room.

"Looking for someone?" asked a female voice to Al's right.

"Yeah," Al answered. He then turned to his right to face the woman. "I'm looking for..."

In his head, everything around him went silent except for the music he was listening to.

 _"If you like piña coladas,"_ sang Holmes in Al's ear. _"And getting caught in the rain."_

Standing next to him was a woman around two inches shorter than him. She had the face of a goddess. Her skin was pinkish all over. Her eyes were an icy blue color. Her purple hair was wavy and shoulder-length. Under her hair, a bit over her forehead, were two small, protruding, red horns.

She wore a low-cut, purple, backless dress with a leg slit. She wasn't wearing any shoes, so Al could see her red-pedicured toenails which matched her red fingernails. A very striking feature were the decently sized bat-wings she had coming out of her back. Furthermore, she had a devil tail which fit through a hole in the back of her dress.

She was the most beautiful succubus Al has ever laid eyes on.

 _"If you're not into yoga / If you have half a brain."_

"Please stop drooling," requested the succubus.

Al practically jumped. "Was I drooling?!"

The succubus giggled. Her laugh gave Al butterflies. "No," answered the succubus. "I've seen that look on guys' faces before."

"Of course you have," muttered Al. He then cleared his threat and offered her his hand. "Hello, Al. My name is gorgeous."

The succubus raised an eyebrow. She then giggled once again.

"Sorry," Al quickly apologized. He couldn't believe how much of a dork he was being. "What I meant to say was my name is Al, and you're gorgeous. Not that I'm saying your name is gorgeous, just that you are gorgeous, and I'd like to know your name..."

Al forgot what his mother told him to do when he was talking with a pretty girl. She gave him importance advice when he was younger, but he paid no mind to it since he didn't think it would ever apply to him. How wrong he turned out to be.

"My name's Lilizepheria," answered the succubus. "Most people just call me Lily. So, is Al a nickname, or did your parents just hate you?"

"My real name's Alucard, but no one but my mother and future wife call me that. Not saying that you're going to be my future wife or anything. I mean, not that I wouldn't oppose that idea, but - "

 _Al, you're blowing this,_ said Al's conscience.

 _What do you expect me to do?_ his brain replied.

 _Make better small talk_ , answered his conscience. _Literally anything would be better than the conversation you're making._

Al took inspiration from The Piña Colada song to make his small talk.

"Do you like making love at midnight?" asked Al. His eyes widened. He knew he screwed up.

"Ah," said Lily. "Escape by Rupert Holmes released on September twenty-first, nineteen-seventy-nine. Classic."

 _You slap a ring on that woman_ , ordered Al's conscious.

"Anyway," transitioned Lily, "you're new here, right? Of course I'm right. I've never seen you here before and you seemed amazed by what you saw."

"Guilty as charged," said Al with a smile.

"Unfortunately for you," Lily sadly stated, "you picked a bad time to come to Hotel Transylvania."

Al gave her an inquisitive look.

"Come with me," she offered. "I'm going to fill you in on what happened recently. We should probably find a nice place for ourselves to see what's about to happen. A crowd of complaining monsters is going to form in just a few short minutes."

"Okay..." Al said, very unsure about what to do. "Why exactly are you helping me out?"

"I'm just being the friendliest monster I can be," answered Lily. "Besides, you're pretty cute."

* * *

Dracula, Mavis, and Dennis were not prepared for what they were about to see. As they walked down the steps into the lobby of the Hotel, a sea of monsters in all shapes and sizes were complaining to the front desk where zombies were servicing them. The incomprehensible complaining of the monsters made it so that no one's voice would be heard.

Waiting at the bottom of the stairs was Johnny, Frank, and Frank's wife, Eunice. Mavis whispered to Dennis to go to his father, to which the boy replied by transforming into a bat and flying onto his father's shoulder. Mavis motioned for Johnny to take Dennis away somewhere quieter to which her husband obliged.

"You were attacked here at the Hotel?" Eunice asked in her famously annoying tone.

"Technically, it was an attempted kidnapping," corrected Drac.

"That doesn't change the fact that we're in trouble," argued Eunice.

It was at that point that the monsters realized that Dracula had entered the lobby. All the ones who noticed moved closer to the foot of the stairs, and the ones who didn't notice initially would end up near the end of the crowd.

The way past the stairs was blocked. The only way to get the monsters to clear out was to talk them into calming down.

"Okay, okay," Drac announced. "What exactly is the problem here?"

"The problem is that we're not any more safe here than we are anywhere else," shouted a skeleton in the distance.

"And those places are free, too!" added a hairy monster.

Mavis turned to Eunice and asked, "How did word spread so quickly?"

"Uh, that's my bad," said the voice of the Invisible Man.

Mavis was startled. She turned to her opposite side and found a floating pair of glasses speaking to her.

"I might have tweeted something about the attack," admitted Griffin.

"Why?" Mavis asked, scolding the pair of glasses. "We didn't discuss releasing the details."

"Hey," argued Griffin, "I need to make my daily quota of likes and retweets."

"And how'd that work out for ya?" asked Frank.

"Surprisingly, not so well," answered Griffin.

More and more complaints about the Hotel arrived. Drac had to dodge the occasionally thrown room key. He looked at Mavis for help, but she seemed just as lost as Drac was. Drac didn't even bother looking at Frank because he knew that Frank's opinion held little merit among an angry mob of monsters.

"Enough!" Drac shouted. Although it wasn't effective enough to get all of the monsters to zip it, he managed to quiet the entire lobby down so that he wouldn't have to yell to get his point across.

"I am more than happy to address your concerns as long as you present them professionally like a mature monster," offered Drac.

"You lied to us!" shouted a gremlin.

"I didn't even talk to you about it," reminded Drac, "so how could I lie to you about it?"

Mavis slapped her forehead with her palm.

"What if we die because you're incompetent?" questioned a tentacled monster.

"Official Hotel Transylvania policy states that any third-party harm to a guest - including, but not limited to decapitation, exploding, flaying, kidnapping, sickness, and broken limbs - are not the Hotel's fault, so we're not responsible and legally cannot be held accountable," replied Drac.

"Dad!" Mavis barked. "That's not helping. Let me give it a go."

The Count nodded and stepped aside so Mavis could take his place.

"Let me settle this," Mavis announced. "Yes, there was a hostile monster - a vampire - who attempted to kidnap my father while he slept. Fortunately, I was able to fight him off. He only seemed interested in taking my father, however. I'm sure you all are safe from him."

"What if there are more of them around?" asked a scared reptilian monster. "Just because that one wasn't interested in us doesn't mean others won't be."

"I understand that you're scared," revealed Mavis. She was trying her hardest to relate to the monsters. If they couldn't relate to one another, then attempts to convince them would be futile. "Trust me, no one is more scared than I am. However, you're not going to see me running away. I shouldn't be seeing any of you running away, either. If we give in to fear, we're letting them win - whoever they are. If they see that we're united against them, they won't even try to stand up to us."

"And who is they?" shouted someone from the crowd.

Mavis paused. "We don't know," she admitted. "I swear to you, though, that we're doing everything in our power to find out. It's more than anyone else in the world is doing."

Once again, the crowd broke out into a craze.

"We can protect you," added Dracula. "Now, we know that security at the Hotel is flawed. I can guarantee that every gremlin, swamp monster, and cyclops will have someone watching their back."

"How can you protect us against people if you have no idea who they are, how they operate, or how to look for them?" asked a monster made from garbage and mud with a British accent.

Mavis had to admit to herself that they made good points. The hardest enemy to fight was the unknown. All one could ever hope for when facing a mysterious threat is for them to slip up and reveal something crucial about themselves. So far, all Mavis had was the color of an eye.

"We just need you to place your trust in us," announced Mavis. "Before you know it, everything will go back to the way they were."

Regardless of how hard Mavis and Dracula tried, their pleas went unheard. Even Eunice - their good friend - was starting to doubt them. She made this evident when she left their side to stand at the front of the complaining crowd. Frank tried to stop her, but she was too defiant. All he could do was watch in sadness as she placed her trust away from him and his friends.

Mavis and Drac gave each other looks of desperation and disappointment. Before they started to approach the front desk to check people out, there was a loud note from a speaker nearby.

During the chaos, Johnny was able to hook up his electric guitar to a speaker and play a long note. Needless to say, it got everyone's attention. Mavis, especially, was watching with great interest. She couldn't find Dennis next to Johnny, however. Her worry faded when she felt the child tug at her clothes.

Johnny produced a microphone and raised it to his mouth.

"Alrighty, my good monsters," started Johnny, "let me tell you guys a little something. We're all scared. I don't care if you're Bigfoot or a talking rock - I know you're scared about what's happening to the monsters. To your friends. To your families. I also know that this fear did not come from what happened to Drac an hour ago."

"For the first time in centuries, you guys feel vulnerable. Believe me, as a human, I get that feeling every day. I don't let it control me, though. If I let it control me, then I forget to live. I only survive. You guys forget that you don't have to stay at the Hotel to survive anymore. If you really did stay here to survive, then why are you leaving?"

"Here, we give you guys all of the opportunities and activities in the world to live. Here, you can enjoy yourself. That's all what Drac, Mavey, the staff, and I want for you guys: enjoyment. That's exactly why you guys keep coming every year. That's why some of you even stay year-round. So you better believe it when we say that we'll keep you guys safe with as much as it takes all so you can enjoy your stay here."

"This place is where the best moments of my life happened, and I'm sure a lot of you guys can say the same. This place wasn't made for me - a human. It's still my home, though. Sure, there are a ton of things here which could kill me, but I wouldn't stay here if it didn't mean anything to me. You guys have a longer history with this place than I do, and I'm sure it'll be longer than I'll ever have. It's your home as much as it is mine."

"Don't let some shadows take that all away from you. By standing up to them here, we're standing up to them all over the world. Monsters and humans will look at Transylvania and tell themselves that they aren't going to be scared by a mystery."

"Think about all of the places where monsters did go missing. If you step out of those doors, we won't be able to protect you. You say that you're not any safer here than out there. Even if that were true, what would you have to lose by sticking with us here and making a stand? Here, we have staff who can make sure you enjoy your life to the max. We won't let anything bad happen to you. All I'm asking is that you believe that."

There was the silence of contemplation after Johnny's speech. Drac managed to break the ice by saying, "There will be some changes around here to make you feel safer. However, if you still want to take your chances out there on your own, we can't stop you. There's the door."

Once again, there was complete silence. No one bothered to even look at the door. Eunice then slowly approached the foot of the stairs and turned around to face the crowd.

"They've protected us for so many years," Eunice pointed out. "Why would they stop now?"

Whispering occurred among the crowd. Although Drac and his family could hear little about what was actually being discussed, the smiles and nods gave them hope that the crowd had made the right decision. They then began to disperse: none of them approached the door to exit the Hotel.

Mavis, Drac, and Dennis removed themselves from the staircase to allow some monsters to migrate back to their rooms. As the monsters passed by, they gave Drac reassuring nods and smiles. The monsters proved then and there that they were with Drac to the end of it all.

Not all monsters left to their rooms, despite it already being early in the morning. Monsters, of course, generally slept during the day. The remaining ones stayed in the lobby in huddled groups, discussing all manners of topics.

Johnny jogged to his wife from where he was. Before he could stop, however, she tackled him with a hug. Drac couldn't help but smirk at the couple.

"Have I ever told you that you're the greatest husband a girl could ever ask for?" Mavis asked. Her eyes sparkled with affection. Dennis looked away from his parents, clearly disturbed by public displays of affection.

"And I did it without a script, too!" announced Johnny.

Mavis got on her feet and helped her husband up.

"You did good, Johnny," approved Drac. "Unfortunately, making a promise to them is no where near as difficult as keeping it. Guards!"

Three suits of armor with a spears reported to Drac at once.

"Tell the witches to put eyes everywhere around a perimeter of the Hotel," ordered Drac. By eyes, Drac did not mean security cameras. He meant literal eyes detached from any sockets. Using magic, the witches could see whatever the eyes could see. "If anyone suspicious enters or leaves the Hotel, let me know. If anything suspicious around here happens, let me know."

"On it, Sir," accepted one guard, bowing.

Drac then focused on another one of the guards. "I want a gargoyle patrolling every hallway in the Hotel," Drac announced. "If I see one hallway without a gargoyle, I'm taking my disappointment out on you by withholding your non-existent paychecks."

"Of course, Sir," said the guard. He bowed and left.

"You," Drac said, pointing to the third and final guard. "Make sure all suits of armor are on duty twenty-four-seven. I want groups evenly spread out among the Hotel so everywhere is protected."

"At once, Sir," acquiesced the guard who bowed and left.

Mavis let out a long sigh. "We can't afford any screw ups," she said. "The ice is getting too thin."

"They're not going to act like everything is fine," Johnny reminded.

"Do not worry," said Drac. "I've designed some grand activities leading up to Mavey's big party. That ought to keep the guests distracted from the disappearances."

"Speaking of," Mavis started, "what's our progress on the investigation? Did you hear back from the knights you sent out?"

Drac shook his head. "We still know as little as we did when this whole thing started. Although, I guess we do know now that there's at least one person who can be considered an enemy to monsters."

 _A vampire with green eyes,_ Mavis thought.

Her train of thought was derailed by the distracting sounds of conflict happening not too far from their location. It was a mystery how neither one of them realized what was happening sooner.

The sounds of fisticuffs nearby were quite surprising. Initially, Mavis thought it was the assailant from earlier who came back to finish the job in a much less subtle way. However, when they looked over, they found a ring of monsters gathering around whatever conflict was happening.

"What the rabies is going on?" asked Mavis.

"Johnny," Drac said, "go make sure the guests are okay. We'll handle whatever's happening down here."

"Aye aye, Captain," said Johnny as he saluted and ran up the stairs.

The three remaining vampires traveled in the direction of the commotion.

* * *

"We were just talking," Alucard insisted as he dodged the incoming fist.

The individual who threw the fist was a cyclops. He had rough, grey skin with patches of brown hairs which grew where hair appropriately grew. He was wearing what Al could only describe as a speedo. Growing on his head were two large, pointed horns. He stood a whole foot over Alucard, and his muscles made Al look like a skeleton.

"I had no idea she was your girlfriend," defended Al.

Standing nearby among the ring of people was Lily, the succubus. She groaned because of how annoyed she was and then pointed out, "He's not my boyfriend."

The cyclops swung his arm at Al. The vampire ducked the attack, covering his head as well.

"Then why is he so pissed off?!" Asked Al as he jumped over a sweep of the enemy monster's leg.

Appropriately playing in Al's earbuds was Michael Jackson's _Beat It._ That was Al's favorite superpower: always knowing which song to play to match his situation. Sometimes, he just lets the playlist shuffle, and the song that randomly played would be conveniently appropriate for Al.

"We zinged!" insisted the cyclops, looking back at Lily. He then quickly got his head back in the game when he attampted to swing kick his leg on Al. The vampire managed to dodge it by bending backwards as if he was playing limbo in the Matrix.

 _You better run you better do what you can / Don't want to see no blood, don't be a macho man_

"We did not," argued Lily. "I just had a little too much to drink."

"Yeah!" exclaimed Al. "She just had a little too - Wait what? So something _did_ happen between you two?"

Her comment threw Al off. The cyclops managed to land a punch on Al's gut with the power of a rocket, sending him flying backwards with saliva flying out of his mouth. He would've crashed into part of the crowd of monsters who gathered to observe the fight, but they all stepped to the side, leaving an opening for Al to fly through.

 _You want to be tough, better do what you can_

When he landed on the ground, he rolled and slid backwards until he was stopped by a foot inside a red sneaker pressed against his shoulder.

 _So beat it, but you want to be bad_

Al looked upward to find Mavis glaring at him with her arms crossed. To one of her sides was her father, and to the other was her son.

When Al looked at Mavis, he squinted and tilted his head as if he was confused about what he was looking at. His look of confusion didn't last long, however.

"Believe me when I tell you that this isn't how I make most of my first impressions" said Al as he hopped back onto his feet.

 _He has green eyes_ , Mavis thought.

"Who are you, exactly?" Drac asked. He had never seen Alucard before, although something about the young vampire seemed eerily familiar.

"A dead man is what he is!" said the cyclops as he stomped towards Al.

 _Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_

Al bowed towards Mavis and Drac, saying "Excuse me." He then charged towards the cyclops. The crowd created an even wider opening for the two to face off. This circle formed around Mavis, Drac, and Dennis so they got front row seats for the whole fight. Some of the monsters were discussing the exchange of money; they were betting on who they thought was going to win the fight.

Mavis noted how - when he spoke - he had vampire fangs.

"Dad, we should probably stop this," suggested Mavis.

 _No one wants to be defeated_

"We should," Drac agreed. "But..."

He listened in on the cheering monsters. He looked at the smiles on their faces. They seemed to be forgetting the terrible news they were scared of not too long ago. A distraction was just what they needed, and Drac was glad they had one.

 _Showin' how funky and strong is your fight_

"Maybe we should let them work it out," said Drac.

 _It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_

Al slammed into the cyclops with all of the might he could muster. Fortunately, that might was sufficient enough to make the cyclops bend over in pain. This gave Al an opening to uppercut the cyclops. As a result, the cyclops's head jerked upward. Unfortunately, he had tough skin. Al shook his hand in pain, but he tried not to let it bother him too much.

 _Just beat it, beat it / Just beat it, beat it / Just beat it, beat it / Just beat it, beat it_

The cyclops, although strong, was slow and didn't play very defensively. Furthermore, he had little protection. In his temporarily stunned state, Al let a barrage of attacks using his arms and feet on the cyclops's torso.

Mavis heard grunting down below her. She looked down and saw her son swinging his arms and feet with his tongue sticking out as if he were fighting an imaginary enemy.

Violence influencing her son was, at that moment, the least of her worries. The way this newcomer moved - his speed, his technique, his ferocity - made her quite suspicious. She remembered all too well how the stranger from earlier fought.

 _Okay_ , Mavis thought. _A skilled vampire with green eyes who no one has seen before shows up not long after we're attacked by a skilled vampire with green eyes who no one has ever seen before. Either I'm paranoid, or this guy has a lot to answer for._

"Punch him in the eye!" suggested Drac.

Mavis scolded at her father who had his fists raised in the air, cheering the vampire on.

Alucard transformed into a bat, narrowly dodging one of the cyclops' swings. He then flew towards Dennis. When he transformed back, he was on one knee.

"You're in the middle of a fight!" yelled the cyclops.

"That's what you call fighting?" mocked Al. He then looked Dennis in the eye and said, "Kid, some crazy stuff is about to go down. Close your eyes."

Dennis nodded and covered both of his eyes with his hands.

Al then stood up, looking at Mavis.

"Uh..." Al said, at a lost for words. She found it suspicious that Al was so uncomfortable around her. "Make sure he keeps his eyes closed."

"Why?" Mavis asked, still scolding.

"Drac!" called Johnny.

Squeezing through the crowd to get to Drac was the red-haired human.

"My end's done," announced Johnny. "What's going on?"

"Drac..." Al muttered to himself. "Dracula?"

"The one and only," said Drac, introducing himself.

Al smiled, saying, "Perfect. Just the guy I was wanting to - "

A large arm grabbed Al's shoulder. With one arm, the cyclops picked Al up and slammed him against the ground. The crowd gasped in shock. Some started to cash-in their bets.

The cyclops then kicked Al hard in the ribs, sending him sliding away across the make-shift arena. Al groaned as he opened his eyes. What he saw was Lily kneeling next to him, holding onto his shoulder and neck to support him.

"Beat it... Beat it..." muttered a dazed Alucard. He kept blinking until the ring of ducks and stars rotating over his head disappeared.

"Listen," Lily started, "you don't have to keep fighting. I can talk him down. Just walk away."

"And deny these fine monsters a good show?" Al asked, obviously in pain. "How about this? If I go back in there and die, you can write 'I-told-you-so' on my gravestone. But, if I go back in and win, you have to give me your number."

Lily was obviously frustrated, but Al found that incredibly cute. He was ecstatic that she cared so much for him despite not knowing him for more than an hour.

"Let's see what you got," said Lily, patting Al in the back. She stood up, letting Al get up on his own. She then rejoined the crowd who made space for her.

Dennis tried to peek through his fingers, but Mavis picked him up and covered his eyes with her own hand.

"Alright Lord Sauron," Al joked. The cyclops did not understand the reference, nor why some monsters were snickering. "I'm giving you one last chance. If you walk away now, you'll leave with your dignity intact."

"I will eat your flesh on pineapple pizza," threatened the cyclops.

"Pineapple pizza?" asked Al. "You just crossed the goddamn line."

The two then charged at each other. Everything around the two seemed to slow: the only things that mattered in the world at that moment was the cyclops and Alucard. When Al reached about arms length from the monster, he transformed into a bat. The cyclops was not expecting such a maneuver. In bat form, Al flew straight at the face of the cyclops with his fist pointed forward.

The little bat hand jabbed the cyclops's eye. Al then flew to away from the head and transformed back into his normal form. The cyclops cried in pain, cupping his face in his hands. Al knew to be careful with the punch: the attack did not blind the cyclops.

"Eyes closed?" Al asked Dennis who stood a few feet away.

The child nodded.

"Good," said Al. He then ran towards the screaming cyclops and pulled down his underwear/speedo.

Unfortunately for the cyclops, his pain prevented him from noticing his pants were down. He simply turned towards Al with his eye pinkish and moist.

The cyclops began his slur of insults. "You tiny, disgusting, treacherous, arrogant, slimy, punk! I will cut you up with a butter knife and spill your guts over my bagels like jam. I will feast on your - Why is everyone laughing at me?"

The cyclops looked down to find the problem. He howled in embarrassment. The laughter of the crowd echoed throughout the lobby. Even Mavis, Drac, and Johnny were having fun at the cyclops's expense.

Al stood confidently with crossed arms and a smirk. He bowed to the audience occasionally.

"Mommy, what's happening?" Dennis asked.

"Just keep your eyes closed, honey," ordered Mavis, in-between laughs.

"So your muscles _are_ compensating for something," joked Al. "And you called _me_ the tiny one."

Crying, the cyclops ran from the circle. The crowd that gathered a ring formed an opening so that the cyclops could shamefully escape. Their laughter would continue to follow the cyclops' ears.

Al, proud of his victory, turned to Lily who was approaching him.

"Certainly unconventional," complimented the succubus. "Although, I suppose it was not bad."

She slipped a small slip of paper into his hand. Al smiled as she used her wings to fly away from the scene. Where she was going, he had no idea, but he didn't care. He had her number. That was the true victory.

"Dude," said Johnny to Al. "You're awesome."

The next thing he knew, Alucard was being confronted by the Dracula family. Dracula, Johnny, and Dennis had the biggest grins on their faces. Mavis, however, looked a lot less friendly.

"I've fought bigger," boasted Al.

"Mister, can you teach me to fight like that?" Dennis requested. Mavis gently let him down in the ground.

Before Al could answer, Mavis interrupted by asking, "You didn't give us an answer to this: Who are you?"

Al noticed Mavis's hostility. It was something he didn't appreciate, but there were worse things to worry about.

"My name is Alucard," answered Al. "Alucard Lucine."

"Lucine..." Dracula muttered. He was in deep thought.

"Lucine is my mother. She knew you," Al revealed. "She named me after you."

Dennis was spelling the names out in his head. He placed his finger on his chin, looked up at the ceiling, and mouthed letters to himself.

Mavis looked at her father. His facial expressions became gradually more uneasy and unnerved. There was something he wasn't telling her, and that was something she would always assume with her father.

"Yes," Dracula confirmed. "I remember a Lucine from many years ago. You and her have the same eyes."

"That's great and all," Mavis interjected, "but how exactly is this relevant. You mentioned that my dad was the one you needed to speak to. Why?"

Drac was surprised by how his daughter was being less than genial to the newcomer. This was much unlike her. For as long as she was alive, Mavis was the kindest soul to every monster who stepped through the doors of the Hotel. He had to find out what was going on with her soon.

"Of course," agreed Al. "I'm here because of the monster disappearances. I'm sure you're aware of them."

"More than you think," sadly stated Dracula.

Al continued and said, "Well, I know a thing or two about the guys responsible for this. Before you ask me why I care so much about this, I'm just going to be straight with you. These kidnappers - these _Hunters_ \- they... They killed my mother."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you all liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think.

I apologize for the relatively short chapter. I wanted to meet my quota of at least one chapter a week, and the only way I'd get this chapter out on time was if I cut it short.

In every chapter, I'm going to try to add in a song for Al to listen to. I do this because I feel it reveals a lot about Al's character, and I love sharing my musical tastes with readers. If there are any late-twentieth century songs you'd like to see in this story, please comment!

I wanted to reveal something to you guys in this note: Mavis and Alucard are the absolute main protagonists for this story. Personally, I'd lean towards Mavis having a larger role. The main reason I'm writing so much about Alucard is because he's an original character and I need to flesh him out much more than I must with any other character. We're going to see things mainly from their perspectives. Everyone else will serve strong supporting roles. If you haven't figured that out yet, now you know what to expect.

Ciao.


	5. The Hunters

**Chapter 5: The Hunters**

The private dining hall was closed from the public. No monsters could interrupt Dracula, Mavis, Johnny, and Alucard as they sat at the end of the long table. Drac sat at the head with Mavis on his right - Johnny next to her - and the newcomer on his left. In front of the four were platters of monster delicacies and glowing cocktails. However, no one touched the food.

Dennis was given to Wayne and Wanda to watch over; whatever Al needed to tell Drac and Mavis was not appropriate for young ears. At least Dennis knew about the missing monsters. Despite Mavis' attempts to shield her son from the truth, when Johnny gave his speech earlier, all was revealed.

There was little reason for Mavis to worry about Dennis, however. The child seemed to take the news rather well in that he didn't break out crying or yelling. What she couldn't let him hear - however - was Alucard's story. The death of his mother was not something fit for the ears of children.

Mavis couldn't help but stare at Al. She was convinced that he was not to be trusted. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell her father that in the presence of Al. Not yet, at least.

"So," Drac started, breaking the awkward tension, "before we start talking about these Hunters, please tell us about yourself, Alucard."

"Does that really matter?" asked Mavis and Al at the exact same time.

Johnny scooted an inch away from his wife. She was making him a tad too uncomfortable. Rarely did he ever see his wife act with any sense of hostility.

"Eh..." muttered Drac as he looked back and forth at Mavis and Al.

He knew that he had to play the role of the mediator. Mavis, obviously, did not have a liking towards Al. Al was a stranger, and Drac had little idea what to make of him. He just prayed that he could get the conversation over with before anybody started throwing fists.

"I insist, Alucard," Drac said, motioning Mavis to calm down. She hated that idea, but she couldn't disrespect her father's wishes. He knew what he was doing... Most of the time, at least.

"Please, just call me Al," he insisted. "Neither one of us has the time to go over my life story, so I'll just give you the basics. I'm one-hundred-and-twenty-one. My mother is... _Was_ a vampire named Lucine. My father was a human, and that's all I know about him. I've lived in New York with my mother for as long as I can remember. For some reason, she'd never let me go to Hotel Transylvania."

Dracula was clearly uneasy as Al revealed what he did. It was as if he was telling a ghost story - not that Drac would have been scared of a ghost story. Although neither Al nor Mavis called him out on his nervous state, they both took note of it. Whatever it was that bothered him, it was doubtful that he'd reveal it to them.

"What did you do in New York?" Johnny asked.

"I'm a vigilante," revealed Al, nonchalantly. "You might have heard of me. They call me The Fang."

Mavis couldn't help but snicker. Al was not offended at all. He realized how terrible the name was, but he was forced to stick to it. If only he had changed the name a long time ago before his reputation solidified, he wouldn't have gotten reactions from people which embarrassed him.

Johnny nearly jumped out of his seat when Al revealed his identity. Both Mavis and Drac stared at the human with unamused looks that bordered embarrassment. The vigilante - himself - seemed pleased that he had a fan.

"You're the Fang?" asked an excited Johnny. "Dude, that's the coolest - "

Mavis nudged Johnny's knee hard with her own.

"I mean," Johnny corrected, "Why would you reveal your identity out to strangers like that? What if we try to follow you home and strangle you in your sleep?"

The red haired human grinned and aimed two thumbs up at his wife. His wife and father-in-law were unimpressed with his attempted save. The slacker always had his heart in the right place, but he was quite far from being the smartest man alive. Luckily for Johnny, he wasn't loved because of his brains.

"Are you saying you're going to follow me home and strangle me?" Al asked. Clearly, it was a rhetorical question. "Besides, my identity isn't as precious as you think. I don't even wear a mask when I scare off the bad guys."

Although Al didn't say it, he regretted not wearing a mask. Had he disguised himself, then he and his mother perhaps would not have been targeted by the Hunters. A vigilante was always a target for criminals, just as criminals were always the targets of vigilantes.

"Okay, but why the Fang?" inquired Drac, chuckling. He found the name just as hilarious as Mavis. "You got to admit that it sounds like the title of a terrible teen vampire movie."

"I didn't pick it," Al defended. Of course, he didn't really refuse the title when it was given to him by the public. In a way, it was still his fault he was called that. "I'd still prefer it over Count Chocula, wouldn't you?"

"Sure," agreed Mavis, "but the Fang sounds like something a teenager would name his fan-fiction superhero."

Before Al could argue against that claim, he thought about it for a second. She was not wrong at all. However, the last thing he wanted to do was continue talking about his vigilante persona.

"Moving on, I think it's my turn to have a question answered," Al said. "My mother said she knew you, Dracula. I'd like to know exactly how."

"Oh, of course..." said Drac as he cleared his throat. "Your mother was a visitor to my hotel a long time ago. The last time we talked must've been before you were born because I never recalled her talking about a son much less actually having one. She was a good friend, although I barely remember her."

"She really was something great," muttered Al.

"Did something happen between you and her, Drac?" Johnny asked.

"No!" Drac denied. "Nothing happened between us. It was a purely platonic relationship."

Mavis and Al both gave each other looks that mixed confusion with suspicion.

"Okay..." said Johnny, scratching the back of his head. "What I meant to ask was if something happened between you guys which would have kept you guys from getting in touch?"

"I don't... Maybe she... I'm not so sure," admitted Drac.

"She gave me her reason," Al added. The Count was intrigued when he focused his attention on the newcomer. "She met someone: my father. He was human. He died in Transylvania. She hasn't gone back ever since, and... It doesn't look like she'll ever get that chance."

Although she didn't completely trust him, Mavis was able to somewhat relate. She couldn't imagine dealing with what Al had to go through. Sure, she lost her mother, but she always had her father. Furthermore, her mother died when she was too young to know her.

On the other hand, Al was an even more tragic case. He didn't know his father, but he knew his mother. She had raised him and loved him for so many years. To have someone that close taken away was one of the worst things - if not the _absolute_ worst thing - to happen to anyone.

"Al," started Mavis, "if what happened to your mother ties into what's happening to all of these monsters, then please tell us. I know it'll be painful, but it - "

"Don't worry about me," requested Al. "What happened to her is the reason I'm here, after all."

The green-eyed vampire let out a long sigh. Johnny, Mavis, and Dracula prepared themselves for any words that were going to come out of Al's mouth, be it good or awful.

* * *

 **I was an idiot. A friend of mine gave me a tip that a witness - a yeti - to the monster disappearances was waiting at his clinic for me. My mother and I argued about what I should do. I got angry and said some things I wish I could take back. I left her at home, and she was undefended. When I got to my friend's clinic, the yeti was gone. I realized that either my mother or I was next. I flew home as quickly as I could, but when I got there...**

"Ma!" yelled Alucard, kneeling in front of his burning house.

He slammed the ground with his fist with as much strength as he had anger and sadness. In such a short time, he had lost his home and probably his mother. Al continued to scream and curse, and since no one lived near him, he would hypothetically go unheard.

Soon after his rage died down, he was filled with guilt. Al blamed himself for everything terrible that had befallen himself and his mother. Had he been wiser and more understanding, he would have never left his home to turn into ashes.

Even through his screams, his enhanced hearing was able to catch the sounds of twigs breaking and grass rustling behind him. Whether that was a good or bad thing was up to debate.

Al stood up and whipped around, ready to fight off whoever dared to wrong him. Standing about ten feet away from him was a line of seven figures standing side-by-side with the exception of one figure standing a foot in front of two of them.

Al's eyes widened when he recognized the figure not standing in the line: his mother. She was gagged with a rag. Around her wrists were silver handcuffs. The skin under the chains was burning and blistering because vampires were weak to silver (among many things). She was dirty and bruised. Either she wasn't taken without a fight, or they tortured her while she was a captive. Al was proud for her resilience either way.

 **There she was: beaten and captured. I was relieved, though. Anything was better than dead.**

The other figures were unrecognizable. Four of them were dressed in black leather jumpsuits complimented by black helmets with a smooth and un decorated face-cover. Two of the masked people held onto Lucine's arms as if making sure she wouldn't run. One of them was not nearly as well-dressed: he wore a loin cloth, had dark brown skin and orange hair all over his body including an orange mane. In his hand was a sword with a blade made of silver.

The final figure stood in the middle of it all. The features of the others were clearly defined, but somehow, he managed to appear as a silhouette despite the flames of the house illuminating the area. He was shorter than the rest, and he stood with a slouch. On his head was a top hat, but that was all Al could tell from his silhouette.

"So this is the infamous vampire vigilante himself," said the slouched man. His accent was foreign: Cockney British. "The Fang. Of course, your real name is Alucard, isn't it?"

"It's a really stupid name," said the hairy monster. "It doesn't fit him. Fangs are supposed to be intimidating. He's small, so he doesn't intimidate me much.

"Ah, but looks can be deceiving, Grendel," said the slouched man. He was obviously the leader of the group. "Just like me. I may not look like much, but I'm the leader of the Hunters."

 **They called themselves the Hunters - heh - and I'm the one accused of having an uninspired name.**

"In other words," interrupted Al, "you're the bastard who needs to get his ass handed to him on a silver platter."

The leader chuckled as super villains characteristically do. "Yes, I suppose so. However, I'm afraid that if anything were to happen to me, my men would have to reciprocate it to your poor mother. I'd very much like to avoid that."

"I assume you brought your whole posse with you?"

"Oh, these gentlemen? These four vampires are only a fraction of what I have at my disposal."

 **I couldn't tell by looking at them, but the guy said they were vampires. How he got so many vampires to work for him? I don't know.**

 **I knew when I saw her that she was never really the one they wanted. The question was, though, is why they wanted me.**

"What do you want with me?" asked Al. He clearly did not seem ready to acquiesce, yet he was willing to do so in order to save his mother.

"Simply put," started the leader, "we want you to switch places with her. She'll be as free as a butterfly while you're my plus one. As for the reason, you'll surely find out."

"For the same reason you're taking all of those other monsters?" Al questioned.

"Don't worry, boy," said Grendel. "It's for a good cause - like charities for puppies. No one is taken in vain."

"Way to make a sales pitch, King Kong," remarked Al. King Kong would have been offended by the comparison seeing as how Grendel was so much uglier.

"I'm asking you nicely," insisted the leader with gritted teeth. "Worst case scenario is that my boys here will take you by force, and your mother won't be free to go. Is that what you really want?"

Al didn't answer them. He was too busy planning out exactly how he would be able to get himself and his mother out of the situation safely. Unfortunately, there were too many unknown variables. For example, he had no idea how well his enemies fought. Judging them based on their leader's confidence, they must've fought pretty well.

Could he free her and outrun them? Not likely. Could he talk them out of it? Absolutely not. The ice beneath his feet was melting too quickly. Soon, he would be forced to do something he would regret. Well, _another_ thing he would regret.

"Tell you what," started the leader. "Because you're having such a hard time choosing, I'll let you phone a friend."

The slouched man motioned for Grendel to remove Lucine's gag. Immediately, she began to plead to her son.

"Al, whatever you do, don't give in to them," warned Lucine. "They'll take you and then kill me to keep me silent."

She winced as she spoke. The pain of the silver handcuffs was a large burden on her. There were many taboos in the world of monsters, and one of them was torture. Of course, the Hunters didn't care since they did the universal taboo of taking people against their will.

None of the Hunters seemed to deny her claim. Al had his suspicions, of course. Someone was going to suffer at the end. He just wanted to make sure it wasn't his mother.

"If I go over there," bargained Al, "I want her gone. I want to see her fly away, and I don't want any of you chasing her. You do that for me, and you've got me."

"Easy," agreed the leader.

"Then we have a deal," said Al. He got on his knees and put his hands behind his head, signaling for two of the Hunters to come collect him.

"Al..." she called. "Fly away. Live your life just like you wanted to. Stop them, and avenge me." She wasn't looking at what the leader was doing when he unlocked her handcuffs with his key. It dropped to the ground with a clinging sound. Lucine immediately began rubbing her wrists.

Mother and son were having difficulty negotiating with each other the wise thing to do. Lucine wanted nothing but her son's freedom, and Alucard wanted nothing but his mother's freedom.

"I'll be fine, Ma," promised Al. "I just need to know that you'll be okay. We all make our own choices, and this is mine. Just... don't do anything stupid."

 **I failed to realize that my stubbornness was learned.**

Lucine gave her son a warm smile. It was a genuine look of love. It was as if she was looking at the baby she just gave birth to. Only a mother could give that smile.

"We all make our own choices," Lucine agreed.

She then punched the leader in the face. This caused him to step backward, covering his nose with both hands. He wasn't screaming in pain, complaining, or cursing. He was quite stoic, as a matter of fact. The leader stepped away from her, leaving her to his men.

Lucine elbowed one of the Hunters behind her in the head. The force was too weak to break the mask, but strong enough to make the Hunter fall backward. The other Hunter was kneed in the stomach. As he bent down in pain, Lucine grabbed his shoulders and threw him towards Grendel, knocking both of them down.

All of these actions happened rather quickly. No one had time to react of defend themselves against Lucine. Al took advantage of the confusion by lunging at one of the Hunters approaching him who was meant to detain him. Both of the two Hunters had turned to look at what Lucine was doing so Al was able to make a free attack.

There was ample space between the two Hunters for Al to use a technique he had learned in some superhero movie. He jumped, positioned his body horizontally, punching one Hunter and kicking the other. Both were knocked on the ground, and Al landed stylistically.

 **We made the mistake thinking we were winning.**

He looked up and smiled at his mother.

"Vigilante work suits you," she complimented.

Lucine never had entirely approved of Alucard being a vigilante. However, when she saw how well he defended himself, she realized the potential of good he could've been doing in the city. His natural abilities as a vampire as well as his learned combat techniques made him a perfect candidate for making New York a safer place. That was his mark on the world, and Lucine was glad that he had that.

"You're not too bad yourself, Ma," Al pointed out.

"Of course I'm not," replied Lucine. "I taught you everything you know."

Their conversation would cost them dearly.

The silver sword of a blade erupted from Lucine's stomach. The blood of a vampire dripped from the edges of the blade. Behind her was Grendel - he recovered too quickly for them to have respite. Lucine and Al were too distracted to notice him getting up.

"NOOOOOOOO!" exclaimed Al as he sprinted towards his mother.

Grendel kicked Lucine forward, and his silver sword slipped right out of her.

"You fool!" insulted the leader. "What have you done? We have nothing to bargain with anymore!"

Al's entire body was consumed by anger. He lunged past his mother's body, preparing to hit Grendel. With a diagonal slash, Grendel managed to cut Al's torso from his left shoulder across to the right side of his hip. Although he was in excruciating pain, Al refused to fall back. Since Grendel was no longer in a position where he could strike Al cleanly, the vampire uppercutted the hairy monster.

Grendel was sent flying approximately ten feet backwards. If that attack didn't knock him out, then nothing would have. From a distance, the leader watched and made sure he didn't get too close to Alucard. Luckily for him, Al didn't care about the leader at the moment.

In a panic, Al transformed into a bat. In that form, he grabbed his mother by the hand and flew away from the area. He didn't even look back at their burning house.

The leader watched helplessly as Al flew off. His plan has failed. He had to do things the hard way, now.

 **And what happened next? Well, what do you think?**

"Ma..." said Al as he gently lay his mother on her back against a tree. He found a quiet, empty spot in the forest half a mile away from the site.

Silver and a wooden stake would kill a vampire. Lucine was definitely dying. Paradoxically, she was smiling at her son. Lucine raised her hand to Alucard's cheek, and he placed his hand over her's.

She began to speak. "You have to - " Her sentence was interrupted by violent coughs. "You have to go to Transylvania. Protect them, and they'll protect you."

"I'm not buying this," said Al, struggling to keep back tears. "You're coming with me."

Lucine seemed to ignore him. "You can't win... If you lose here... Don't go back for them."

"I can't let them get away," insisted Al. "Not after everything they - "

"Alucard," Lucine gently said. "Please, don't make it all go in vain. You must fight another day..."

* * *

Al paused his story, staring down at the table. Although his eyes weren't watering, everyone could tell that reselling the story was hurting him greatly.

"There was more to it," Al revealed. "But, it doesn't matter now. She's gone. I buried her under that tree."

Al then pulled down the neck hole of his T-shirt to reveal part of the large, long, red scar he received from Grendel.

"A permanent reminder of that night," he explained. "Although, I doubt I'd ever have forgotten."

"That was... That was hard to listen to," said Drac. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"It's pretty messed up what happened," said Johnny.

Mavis remained silent. She looked down at the table like Alucard did. Conflicted was the word to describe her emotions. A sob story wasn't going to make her trust Alucard, no matter how horrible the events. She still suspected him of being a Hunter himself. If that hypothesis was correct, then she'd have no reason to believe him.

However, if he was telling the truth, then Mavis would've felt incredibly terrible for scoffing off a tragedy. In the end, she decided that she didn't want to say Al's story didn't happen, but she wasn't going to let it make her trust him.

"I'm sorry about your mother," said Mavis, hiding her suspicions. "But apologies aren't going to avenge her. The Hunters? They're the ones behind all of this?"

"Undoubtedly," answered Al, nodding. "I didn't know it at the time, but they left a calling card."

"A golden H on a red," added Mavis.

Al had a look of surprise. His surprise then died. He knew exactly how they knew about the calling card. Only the victims would receive them, and they were always left behind after the victim was taken or worse. They had lost someone. Such a personal tragedy explained why they were so interested in the Hunters.

"For what it's worth," apologized Al, "I'm sorry for your loss. We're going to take those bastards down, though."

"Oh yeah," agreed Johnny. "We're going to track them down into their hidey-hole where I'll unleash my Bruce Lee techniques against an army of those suckers."

"Fascinating," muttered Al as he observed Johnny. "He's a human who has been welcomed into the Dracula family yet he is a complete imbecile."

"Hey!" exclaimed Mavis and Johnny.

"Forget I said anything," Al insisted. He didn't mean to offend them. He just wanted to understand Johnny and his significance. From Al's point of view, Johnny offered little to the Dracula family. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say."

"Really?" asked Dracula who genuinely seemed surprised. "I mean... Very well. Will you be staying with us?"

Mavis hoped Al would say no.

"You guys seem busy as it is," Al pointed out. "I wouldn't want to be a burden or anything. My mom told me to come here and protect our people, but I wouldn't feel right if I was freeloading."

"Of course not," promised Drac. "We have plenty of room and supplies for you. In fact, I insist. You certainly seem like a guy with stories to tell. Perhaps we can hang out later."

"I suppose I have come a long way," said Al, contemplating his choices. "To add on to that, my house burned down. I can't just quit on New York, though."

"New York isn't in danger from the Hunters, though," Johnny added. "We could use your vigilante moves here at the Hotel. Y'know... To protect the monsters."

Mavis was not happy with her father and husband. Her father was acting way too suspiciously for her not to wonder about his true motives with Al. Johnny's idolization of Al was really annoying as well. She wanted nothing more than to thank Al for his information and get him away from the Hotel because of the chance he might have been her attacker.

She didn't feel comfortable addressing her concerns in front of them, however. She reckoned it was best to talk to everyone in private so the conversation could be steered by her. If her concerns were to be addressed in that room, they would've been too quickly shot down. Although, she probably wasn't giving them enough credit. They were her family and loved her. They would've surely enterained the possibility that her assumptions and suspicions were true.

"I suppose staying here wouldn't hurt," Al asserted. "What am I saying? I've always wanted to go here. Now that I'm actually here, I'd love to see what my fellow monsters like to do for fun."

"You won't be disappointed," Drac said. "I've got big plans leading up to Mavis's birthday party."

"Happy early birthday," Al told Mavis.

"Thanks," Mavis said, trying to look as grateful as possible. "Well, we should get you to a room. A suite?"

"You're kidding," scoffed Al in disbelief.

"They're for V.I.M.'s," elaborated Mavis. "You're a very important monster."

"Just take it," Drac insisted. "I'd be offended if you didn't. Besides, it's daytime. You need to stay somewhere indoors for the time being, anyway. Speaking of daytime, I think it's time for us to go back to bed."

"I can show you to your room," Johnny offered. Although his sleep schedule matched that of his wife and son, he was always willing to be up during the daytime. Surviving in the sun was one of the few things humans could brag to vampires about.

"Actually, Johnny, I'd like to do it," Mavis said. "I don't know too many vampires my age. It'd be good to get some perspective."

"Whatever that means," nodded Johnny.

Al seemed indifferent towards his escort. No one was really objecting to Mavis's request, so it was a deal.

* * *

Al impatiently tapped his foot on the elevator's floor. The tapping was annoying Mavis who stood next to him with her arms crossed. He couldn't hear how annoying his foot was being. As always, Al was listening to something through his earbuds.

" _And if you don't love me now / You will never love me again,_ " he mumbled. Fleetwood Mac's _The Chain_ was one of his all-time favorites as well as his mother's. " _I can still hear you saying you would never break the - "_

"Could you please stop that?" Mavis requested.

"The singing or the tapping?" he asked.

"Both."

"Not a music fan?" asked Al as he paused his music. He then unplugged his earbuds and slipped them into his pocket.

"I love music just fine," replied Mavis. "I'm just not in the mood right now. Besides, I'm more of a modern pop kind of girl."

Al mimicked gagging. "Modern pop is the end of good taste as we know it," argued Al. "It's nothing more than auto-tuned songs about romance with random raps put in. Oh, how I miss the twentieth century."

"I think you've been listening to the wrong pop songs," observed Mavis.

"Perhaps. You look like a Selena Gomez fan. Am I right?"

"I'm a bit partial towards her, yeah."

Al didn't reply. They stood in silence for the next few seconds.

"I was just trying to make conversation to end the awkward silence," joked Al. "I thought you wanted to get some new perspective."

"Of sorts," she said.

"Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot," revealed Al. "You've made it clear that you don't really like me."

It turned out that Mavis wasn't as smooth in hiding her true feelings as she thought she was. However, there was no problem with that. She reckoned that, eventually, she'd be forced to tell people her true thoughts, so Al knowing early about the distrust was not the end of the world.

"For good reason," she confirmed.

Mavis turned to stare down Al. He wasn't that much taller than her, so she didn't feel intimidated by him.

"Recently, we were attacked by a Hunter," she revealed. The extent to which it was a revelation completely depended on whether Al was truly who he said he was, of course. "Like you, the Hunter was a vampire with green eyes."

"There are a lot of vampires with green eyes."

"The Hunter then flies off as the sun rises. He couldn't have gone very far. Not even an hour later does a vampire with green eyes show up to our door."

"You sure you saw what you saw?"

"Undoubtedly."

"It could all be a coincidence."

"Maybe. In times like these, I can't afford to believe in coincidences. You're not denying anything."

"I'm not a Hunter much less the one who attacked you."

The elevator slowed and dinged. The doors slid open to reveal an empty hallway. That was to be expected. Very few monsters could afford the luxury suites, and those who could were probably resting as it was the middle of daytime. Mavis was getting hits tired herself.

Alucard followed Mavis out of the elevator. The doors closed behind them.

"You don't trust me, I get that," Al said. "But - in times like these - don't you think it's better to trust the people with the same goals as you? We can't stop the Hunters if we're divided like this."

"Who's divided?" asked Mavis. "I'm just saying that I've got my eyes on you. Humor me for a moment, Al. Do you know who these Hunters are other than bad guys doing bad things?"

"Well, no."

"Do you know where they operate?"

"No."

"Do you know how to find them?"

"No."

"Then there's not much we can do to stop them, as much as I hate to admit it."

"If they've already tried attacking you here, then they'll try again. We don't have to go to them; they can come to us."

"That's not an idea I like. Think about all the monsters here. They're scared and most won't be able to fight. If they're as dangerous as I think they are, we probably won't be able to stop them if they came to us. That's exactly why my dad has beefed up security like he did: to make sure they don't come to us."

In her head, she was playing a risky game. If Al truly was deceiving them, then by explaining the Hotel's current state would lead to one of two things: the Hunters would be intimidated into leaving the Hotel alone or they would have all the information they needed to launch an attack.

"I can protect them," Al insisted.

Mavis couldn't assume that Al was definitely a villain, however. He was being quite adamant about his true intentions. In other words, he was innocent until something proves him guilty.

"Which brings us back to my main problem with you: I don't trust you to."

Mavis stopped in front of a wooden door with a shrunken head attached to the handle. "Well, here it is," she announced. It was nearly identical to the exterior of every bedroom in the Hotel. She handed Al the key to his room which he gratefully accepted.

"Listen," she started. "If what happened to your mother is true, I'm deeply sorry. But, I find it to be my responsibility to protect my family and the other monsters staying here. The way I see it: you're a wild card. My dad and my husband may trust you, but it's going to take a lot more to convince _me_. I'll give you one warning: if you do anything which will make me have second thoughts on letting you go, I'll tie you up in silver chains and feed you garlic under the sun. Are we clear?"

Al sighed and sadly answered by saying, "Crystal."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you all liked the chapter. Please leave a review/comment to let me know what you think.

To those who think my story is starting off a little slow, I agree. However, I believed that five chapters of exposition and story building would be required to ease into the main story. As I see it, the next chapter will get into the meat of the story.

Alucard's voice sounds like Troy Baker's natural voice because Troy Baker has the greatest protagonist voice ever. Most of my OC's sound like Troy Baker.

Ciao.


	6. Friend and Foe

Foreword: This chapter contains some inappropriate innuendos made for comedic purposes.

* * *

 **Friend and Foe**

"I can't believe you could ever fanboy out like that," Mavis said. She was leaning against the sink in her bathroom with one hand. In the other hand, she had her toothbrush covered in foam from the toothpaste. Mavis continued to brush her teeth looking at the mirror although there was no reflection.

"It's not everyday that you meet a superhero, Mavey," defended Johnny from his bedroom. He was sitting at the edge of their bed, having trouble putting a sock on.

Both were getting ready for the night. They didn't have many hours to sleep in the daytime because of Alucard's introduction. He was to blame for them being groggier than usual during their morning routine. Fortunately for Mavis, her mood to complain gave her a boost in energy.

"He's a vampire who beats up guys in alleyways," Mavis summarized as she spit the foam in her mouth into the sink. "What a role model."

"You know what bothers me?"

 _Yes_ , Mavis thought. She then began to rinse her teeth.

She hoped that Johnny was finally seeing things her way. If he figured out the strangeness of it all on his own, then her position would be even stronger since Al's suspicious presence was not just Mavis being paranoid. Although, she had to admit to herself that she was being a tad bit paranoid.

"What bothers you?" she asked.

"Why does Al need to bother beating people up?" asked Johnny. "Don't vampires have mind control and freezing powers?"

"It's possible that he just likes getting his hands dirty," answered Mavis. "Although, the most likely reason is that Al isn't a prime vampire."

"Uh... prime vampire? I don't see what Transformers has to do with this."

It was no surprise that Johnny didn't know what prime vampires were. Vampires seldom came to the Hotel, even during the time when the monsters thought that humans still hated them. That was because they blended in well with the human world. The difference between a prime and a normal vampire was no longer common knowledge.

"A prime vampire is just like a normal vampire," Mavis explained, "but they have more powers. Dad, Grandpa Vlad, and I come from a long line of prime vampires. I think that maybe we're the last traceable line of prime vampires around."

"What powers do you guys have?" inquired Johnny.

"Obviously, we have the standard vampire powers that they teach you to master at Camp Winnepacaca," she elaborated. "But, we also can freeze people, use telekinesis, and have clairvoyance."

Mavis exited her bathroom and entered her's and Johnny's bedroom. She opened her wardrobe of identical clothing to pick out what she was going to wear for the night.

"I know a third of what you listed," admitted Johnny.

"Prime vampires can lift things with our minds and see things far away," simplified Mavis. "Anyway, I didn't see our new friend use any of those three powers during his fight with the cyclops, so I can only assume he's a normal vampire."

"Huh," muttered Johnny, taking all of this new information in.

He knew then exactly how the passing of powers worked. Even though Dennis was only half-prime vampire, he had all of the abilities a prime vampire would theoretically possess. In other words, Dennis was a dhampir with the extra powers of a prime vampire while Alucard was a allegedly dhampir with basic vampire powers.

"Dennis should thank his mom for being so cool," suggested Johnny.

When Mavis finished getting changed from her pajamas, she and Johnny exited the bedroom. Dennis's bedroom was only a few steps away from their door, but they didn't open it to wake him up as part of their nightly routine. Dennis was staying with Wayne, Wanda, and the wolf pups in their Hotel room.

Mavis and Johnny were too tired after talking with Al. They both reckoned that Dennis was safe in the hands of the werewolves, and there was strength in numbers. If any of the Hunters were to try to harm him, they'd surely feel the wrath of a seemingly infinite amount of tiny, vicious wolves.

Collecting Dennis was next on their agenda. Luckily for them, it was only midnight. Dennis was usually still asleep at midnight, so they had some time to kill before they could wake up Dennis - assuming, of course, that he wasn't already awake.

There was one important chore that they needed to do. Tinkles was already awake, sitting in the living room. As always, he was waiting for someone to take him out on his walk.

* * *

There was something of comedic value about a giant dog leash, but Mavis and Johnny could not afford to laugh about it. They respected the tool so much; it always kept Tinkles at bay. Unleashing the beast was terrible news for everyone save for Tinkles himself.

The forest trail near the Hotel was the perfect route to walk a dog. Despite how dangerous it was for monsters to be out what with the Hunters and all, Mavis and Johnny didn't mind. The Hotel's security crew placed literal eyes everywhere. If there was a Hunter nearby, the eyes would catch it and alert the knights and gargoyles.

Mavis and Johnny weren't completely helpless, either. At least Mavis wasn't, that is. Furthermore, Tinkles was one of the scariest beasts any monster has ever laid eyes on. To try to fight the dog was perhaps harder than taking down the Hunters.

As of recently, Mavis thought of nothing but the disappearances. Now, she had a name behind them.

"Mavis, be honest with me," asked Johnny. "What about that guy bothers you so much?"

"Alucard?"

Johnny nodded. He placed his hand on his wife's shoulder; his other hand held the reins to Tinkles.

Mavis sighed and put her hand over Johnny's. She then revealed, "The Hunter who tried to kidnap Dad was a vampire with green eyes. At least, _a_ green eye. Not too long after he leaves, a vampire with green eyes shows up at the Hotel."

Surprise came over Johnny. He had no clue that Mavis knew the assailant's eye color. He reckoned that she didn't think it was important. In their case was different, it wouldn't have been important. However, Al's appearance did make things very suspicious. Johnny understood where Mavis was getting her attitude from.

Unfortunately for Mavis, her husband wasn't as pessimistic as she was. Johnny genuinely liked Alucard - despite knowing him for less than twenty-four hours.

"After everything Al told us," Johnny started, "I just can't see him as someone who'd do such a thing to us. Besides, the Hunters messed with him. Why would he be a Hunter himself?"

"I don't know," Mavis admitted. "You've seen the movies where the alleged ally turns out to have been working for the enemy all along. It'd be easy to make up a story like that."

"And what if you're wrong? What if Al really did lose everything, and you're not respecting his loss? I've been along people long enough to know if someone's being genuine or not. The look in his eyes when he told the story... You can't make that up."

"I've been fooled before, Johnny," Mavis admitted. "Some human had his skin painted blue and tried to pass for Frankenstein, and it worked."

Johnny laughed, saying, "Really? That guy sounds awesome... Oh, wait... You were talking about me?"

"You get the point of that, right?" she asked. "It's easy to deceive others - especially when people are looking for someone to trust. I don't want to put our trust in the wrong person."

"Who are you to say who's right and wrong?"

"I'm not, Johnny. I just... I just want to keep us safe and together. I'm trying to be as cautious as I can, which clearly you're not doing."

She immediately regretted barking at her husband like she did. Her problem was with Al, not Johnny. He couldn't be blamed for her insecurities, and for that, no amount of justification could put Mavis in the right.

"Mavey..." called Johnny. Even when she was upset with him, he couldn't bring himself to raise his voice at her. His devotion to their relationship was rather admirable.

"I'm sorry, Johnny," she apologized. "You know I love you. If you want to become drinking buddies with Al, I'll respect it. I'm just... I don't know. On edge?"

"We all are, hon," revealed Johnny. "I completely get where you're coming from. But if Al is who he says he is, believe it or not, he's more important to us than any other monster out there. If I'm wrong about this, you have full rights to say 'I told you so.'"

Mavis chuckled. "I'd like a more practical prize. You have to do the laundry, clean the room, and cook the food until I'm satisfied."

"Deal," promised Johnny.

* * *

The lobby was notably less packed than it was on previous nights. The most likely explanation for that was that most monsters who intended to stay at the Hotel to wait out the disappearance fiasco were already checked in. Business seemed to have gone back to normal for everyone. It was as if the problems the night before had never happened.

Sitting in one of the waiting chairs in the lobby with her legs crossed was Lily the Succubus. Her bare foot was impatiently tapping on the ground. Her icy blue eyes darted around the lobby, looking for someone. Immediately, she stopped looking when she heard his warm voice behind her.

"How do I look?" Al asked.

Lily turned her head to find Al wearing the exact same outfit he always wore: a red-and-white striped T-shirt under a black zipper jacket with its sleeves rolled up and navy blue jeans.

"Do you have any other clothes?" she asked.

"As you probably have noticed, vampires don't usually experiment with clothing combinations," said Al.

"What about the human husband of Dracula's daughter? He's always wearing the same thing."

"And I _have_ noted the smell."

Lily giggled. Al could've dropped dead from her laugh. He felt himself getting goosebumps. Never before has he faced something as challenging as talking to Lily without fainting.

Succubi were notoriously and infamously as beautiful as they were deceiving. However, the times where they preyed on men had long passed. In modern times, they were just ordinary monsters who were gifted with beauty. However, Lily's beauty transcended that of the other succubi. Al has never been so star struck by someone's appearance.

He couldn't wait to get closer to Lily. There was sure to be much more of her to love.

"So, breakfast?" she asked. "Assuming - of course - 'breakfast' isn't a code-word for something else in your text."

"What?! No!" denied Al, his cheeks blushing. "I just wanted to eat you out. I MEAN - EAT OUT WITH YOU. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

Lily laughed again. "Chill out, Al. You're not blowing anything. Truth be told, I was scared that _I'd_ blow it."

"Can we stop with the innuendos?" Al requested. In truth, he loved jokes like that. However, he had to appear professional in front of Lily. So far, he was failing.

"What innuendo?" asked Lily.

"What's an innuendo?" asked the voice of a child.

Both Al and Lily looked down to Al's left and saw a familiar face: Dennis Loughran. The boy innocently looked up at them with his striking blue eyes. Standing next to Dennis was someone neither of them have seen before: a wolf cub dressed in pink. The wolf was clearly female so Lily knew her to be Wayne and Wanda's only daughter Winnie.

Lily nudged Al's shoulder, expecting him to answer. She had no idea what to tell the children.

"It's just grown-up stuff," answered Al. "You'll learn when you're older."

"Grown-up stuff?" Dennis asked. "Like when my mommy dressed up like a maid and tells me to stay in my room while she and daddy do grown-up stuff?"

With their eyes wide open, Al and Lily slowly turned their heads to look at each other. They were clearly disturbed by what Dennis experienced.

"You're six, right?" Al asked.

Dennis nodded.

"Okay, I'll explain it to you in twelve years... Or when you discover the internet. Whichever comes first."

"Hey, Mister," Winnie said. "Do you know how to fight?"

"I know a thing or two about self defense," answered Al.

"Winnie!" Dennis called.

The wolf pup ignored him and continued to speak. "My Zing here is too embarrassed to ask you, but that's why I'm doing it. Can you teach him some fighting moves?"

"Really?" asked Al.

"Yeah," admitted Dennis. "I want to be cooler than Papa Drac or Mommy."

"Well, I'm flattered," said Al. "But, I'm not so sure I'm qualified to be a teacher. Besides, it's too early in the night to start this. We haven't had breakfast yet, and - "

"Awww," interrupted Lily. "I just love it when kids have dreams like that. Just imagine how cute he'll be when he's punching and kicking."

"Your training begins now," quickly said Al.

* * *

Lily promised Al to save him a table in the shared monster mess hall where the guests were served a continental breakfast. Al was too busy "training" Dennis to join her immediately.

Al and Winnie stood side-by-side as they watched Dennis - standing on a stool - work on waxing the Hotel's hearse which was parked in the courtyard outside the entrance.

"Remember, my young padawan: wax on, wax off," ordered Al. As he observed the kids, he listened to Survivor's Eye of the Tiger. Undoubtedly, that song was the greatest training music. Dennis and Winnie couldn't hear it, but it motivated Al to be a great trainer.

"What are you listening to?" Winnie asked Al.

"Eye of the Tiger," answered Al.

"I love that song!" exclaimed Winnie as she hopped onto the hood of the hearse.

Dennis almost complained, but he realized that he loved that song as well. He transformed into a bat so that he wouldn't have to climb up onto the hood. He transformed back and landed next to Winnie, smiling as he began to count down from three to one with his fingers.

Together, they sang something Al was not expecting. " _I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter / Dancing through the fire / 'Cause I am the champion, and you're gonna hear me_ \- "

"Stop that!" ordered Al. "Obviously, I wasn't talking about that song. Pop quiz!"

"What does a quiz have to do with training?" Dennis asked.

"You have no idea how much this quiz matters to me," lectured Al. "First question: Do you know The Beatles?"

"Of course," Dennis answered.

"There's hope for you yet," complimented a smiling Alucard.

"They're the family of bug monsters staying on the fifteenth floor," elaborated Dennis.

"And we're back to square one..." muttered Al, face-palming. Never before has he encountered children so uncultured in the classical arts. It was his duty to educate them.

"Do you know Queen?" Al asked. "We're talking about musical groups, now."

"Nope," Dennis answered.

"Led Zeppelin?"

"No."

"The Rolling Stones?"

"Sorry."

"AC/DC?"

"Maybe."

"Bon Jovi?"

Dennis chuckled. "That sounds like French food."

"You forced my hand, kid," warned Al. He took off his earbuds and put them in his pocket. Then, he turned the volume on his smart phone to the maximum.

Eye of the Tiger began to play from the beginning.

"Wax on, wax off," Al reminded.

Taking the hint, Dennis returned to his chore. Winnie hopped off of the hearse and found her place by Al's side once again.

"Mister," she started, "I'm not saying I don't trust your methods, but what does cleaning a car have to do with training."

"Well, you see," Al started, "it's supposed to help him... Er, it teaches him to... No, that's not it... He'll eventually learn to - I have no idea, kid. I saw it once in a movie."

"What?" Dennis asked, turning around.

"I didn't say stop," Al reminded. Dennis continued to do his busywork.

"Dennis, sweetie?" Mavis asked from nearby.

Entering the Hotel through the gates - done with their walk - was Mavis, Johnny, and Tinkles. Tinkles was rather excited to see Dennis again, but Johnny had to pull on the leash to keep the dog at bay.

Dennis dropped the wipes, hopped off of his stool, and ran to his mother with arms extended. Winnie - instinctively - followed her alleged zing. Mavis took her son in her arms, spinning him in the air, and set him down. Mavis rubbed Winnie's head which the wolf responded very positively to.

Looking up from Dennis, Mavis saw Alucard standing with his arms crossed.

Mavis greeted him by saying, "I thought I made it clear - "

"That you'd shove garlic down my throat if I harmed your family," finished Al. "Don't worry, Mavis. I haven't done anything, and I'll never do anything bad to you. I was just training the kid."

Mavis looked at the car, raised an eyebrow, and looked back at Al. She didn't say anything. He was supposed to understand that he needed to give her a good explanation about the training.

"Dennis - here - wanted to learn how to fight," Al explained. "I saw this method work in a movie."

Still, Mavis was unimpressed. However, that was not unsurprising.

"Mommy, I want to fight like Batman," announced Dennis. He then began to mimic fighting invisible goons.

"You got up early just to train?" Mavis asked.

"I'm rather surprised by it as well," Al admitted. "Dennis, how'd you know I was The Fang?"

"Al, don't go there," Mavis warned. Al got the feeling that she was genuinely looking out for him with her warning. It was unfortunate that Al did not get the memo.

"The Fang?" Dennis asked.

"Yeah, I'm a vigilante just like Batman."

The next thing Al knew, Dennis's bat form was pressing his forehead against Al's. Al stared with wide eyes into the eyes of the child.

"Are you really a superhero?" Dennis asked. "Can you keep training me? If you're Batman, can I be Robin? Can I sit next to you at breakfast?"

"Told you so," Mavis said. "Alright, sweetie, leave the man alone."

"Yes, mommy," said Dennis as he transformed into a humanoid.

"Hey, Dennis," Johnny called out with Tinkles in tow. "I know a thing or two about karate. Why don't you ever ask me?"

"Not now, Johnny," Mavis said. "I'm going to go get Dennis and Winnie some breakfast. Do you mind taking Tinkles up by yourself?"

"No problemo," answered Johnny as he nodded and walked off.

"Can I sit next to Al?" Dennis asked Mavis.

"What about me?" Winnie asked, putting her hands on her hips. She was getting quite jealous of the attention Dennis was giving Al. Much to her dismay, she was still being ignored.

It was quite a dilemma Mavis faced. Her options were either to disappoint her son but protect him or make him happy and put him at risk. Luckily for Mavis, she didn't have to make that choice. Al made it for her.

"Sorry, buddy," Al apologized. "I already have a seat partner."

"Oh..." Dennis muttered. He tried his best to hide his sadness.

"Don't look so down," comforted Al. "Maybe next time. We'll have plenty of chances. After all, your training has just begun."

"I don't remember having agreed to this," Mavis pointed out. Something like this was exactly what she feared. Despite her best efforts and warnings, she couldn't keep Al away from her family. Fate was playing cruel tricks on her.

"Please, mommy," requested Dennis.

"Mrs. Mavis?" Winnie called. "Might I suggest we talk after a full stomach. Mommy and Daddy always said that we need all the energy we can get when discussing important stuff."

Al nodded and said, "Kid has a point, Mavis."

Dracula's daughter sighed, saying, "I admit I'm hungry myself."

* * *

Drac and his family seldom ate breakfast privately at the Hotel. By sharing the most important meal of the day with their fellow monsters in the Hotel dining hall, they could build a better reputation for themselves and get to know the monsters much better.

The hall was huge. It was the same grand one they used for the birthday parties at the Hotel. All around were the round tables with white sheathes and faces. To the side of the hall was a long buffet of various monster breakfast items. Despite there being more monsters than usual, the queue wasn't incredibly long.

Al, Mavis, Winnie, and Dennis all entered the room at the same time. Of course, they didn't leave the courtyard as different parties because Al had no idea where the dining hall was. He was grateful that Mavis was willing to lead him there.

It didn't take long for Al to find Lily sitting alone at a table, holding her chin up with her palm and elbow. He was relieved; they would have the table all to themselves.

Al thanked Mavis and ran ahead to Lily's table. She sat at the end of the room near the doors so it wasn't much of a journey to get there. The succubus smiled when Al sat down, and they began to converse immediately.

Mavis was happy to find her father's friends rather quickly. Wayne, Wanda, Frank, Eunice, and Griffin sat together. Of course, Murray wasn't present because of the Hunters. There was no more space at that table, so the one right next to theirs accommodated the remaining monsters in Dracula's circle: Dracula himself and Blobby. All three of the tables had plates of an assortment of food already prepared.

As if it was fate, both of those tables were right next to Al's table.

Winnie ran off to join her parents after telling Dennis that they'd see each other later. Mavis then escorted Dennis to Drac's table. The Count greeted them, but his eyes were focused elsewhere. Mavis had the suspicion that he was looking at Al.

"Papa Drac!" Dennis exclaimed. "I was training with Al!"

"You what?" Drac asked.

"The new guy made Dennis wax the hearse," explained Mavis.

"I wanna be a superhero just like him when I grow up," announced Dennis.

Blobby contributed to the conversation by jiggling and making incomprehensible noises. Of course, the monsters understood him.

"It's not the most practical career choice, Blobby," lectured Drac. "Anyway, Denisovich, you like the new guy?"

"Yeah," confirmed Dennis. "He's just like Batman."

Mavis could head Al's conversation behind her. She doubted Batman could ever be as flabbergasted as he was talking to a succubus.

"And he's training you?" Drac asked.

Dennis nodded. Although, Drac could tell that Mavis was not thrilled with the idea.

"I say that's a good idea," revealed Drac.

"Dad," scolded Mavis.

"What? It'd be a great opportunity to learn about the guy."

"Dad, I've never seen you so interested in a monster. What's up with you?"

Before Drac could answer, Frank put his hand on the Count's shoulder.

"Hey, Drac," Frank called. "That's the new guy sitting at that table over there?"

Dracula almost seemed relieved.

"Yes, Frank," Drac answered. He almost pretended that Mavis didn't exist. "Would you like me to introduce you?"

"Sounds great," Griffin said as the floating pair of glasses reached Frank.

Before Al knew it, the table which was just for him and Lily was crowded with monsters. Filling in the seats to Al's and Lily's side was Frank, Wayne, Griffin, Wanda, and Eunice. Winnie had gone to sit with Mavis and Dennis. Drac had to stand up but at least he got a good overlook of the table.

Mavis was annoyed by the commotion of her friends when they sat themselves down on Al's table.

"Just my luck," Al muttered. It seems alone time with Lily was never going to happen.

"I didn't realize you were so popular, Al," Lily said as she scanned the people at the table.

"Neither did I," he revealed. "How can I help you guys?"

"We just wanted to learn a bit more about the stranger who beat up a cyclops," answered Griffin. "It was quite an impression you made, after all."

"Subtlety isn't my greatest asset," Al admitted. He then looked around the table to find out exactly who he was talking to. He didn't realize the all-star group of monsters themselves were talking to him.

"Wow," muttered Al. "The Wolfman, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Invisible Man are talking to me."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Eunice asked, clearing her threat.

"Frankenstein's Bride and... Er... What do I call you?" Al asked Wayne's wife.

"Wanda," she answered.

"Wanda," Al confirmed. "That's a tad bit underwhelming... Anyway, my mom raised me on stories of you guys during the golden age of monsters. As I kid, I wanted to leave a mark on the world like you guys did.""

"Do you still want that?" Frank asked.

"For now, I'm focused on more practical things," he answered. He winked at Lily who blushed and looked away.

"I don't remember ever seeing a monster fight like you do," Wayne said. "Where'd you learn that stuff?"

"Homeschooled," Al said. "A lot of real-world applications for my mom's lessons. I love New York, but it's a nest of vipers."

"New York?" Griffin started. "I haven't been there myself. Anything cool to see there?"

"Plenty," said Al. "But - truth be told - I got bored of the metropolis."

"You must travel a lot," Wanda assumed.

Al shook his head. "There's a reason that barely anyone outside of New York has seen me. My mom always said that we had everything we needed in New York."

"Is your mom anyone we know?" asked Frank.

"She was a vampire named Lucine," Al answered.

An awkward silence fell on the table. Frank, Griffin, and Wayne were exchanging nervous looks between each other. Al couldn't help but notice their quiet exchange. The encounter climaxed when the three monsters looked up at Drac. He seemed just as uncomfortable as they were.

Mavis pretended not to listen to the conversation her friends were having. However, she recognized the melancholy air that came with Lucine's mention. Neither Mavis nor Al could guess what the monsters were thinking of. Lily was especially perplexed.

"There it is again," Al said. "That look I saw from Drac when I said her name. If there's something you know about her, please tell me."

"Uh..." Frank muttered.

"There's nothing out of the ordinary, kid," Griffin assured.

"Yeah," Wayne agreed. "It's just... It's been a long time since we saw her."

"Such a shame, too," Frank added. "She seemed really nice. Looks like she found someone, though."

"My mother and father weren't together for long," Al explained. "He was a human."

"So you're just like Dennis?" Eunice asked.

"Looks like Mavis isn't as progressive as you thought," joked Al.

"Hm," Drac started. "Perhaps that's why she didn't come back. Humans and monsters weren't on the greatest terms back then."

Mavis recognized Drac's tone. His voice had a sense of fakery. Whatever he was hiding, she intended to find out that night.

"My thoughts exactly," concurred Al.

"Is your mother back in New York?" Wanda asked.

"Yeah," Al answered.

Both Drac and Mavis knew he wasn't answering the question correctly, but they couldn't blame him. It was private and personal information that he did not like sharing to people. That was a secret only he had the right to tell to those he wanted to.

"I love it when we make new friends," Drac jokingly remarked. "Anyway, don't go anywhere anybody. You don't want to miss what I have next."

Mavis was curious to see what her father was referring to. She turned around to look at her father, but he was already gone. In a blue wisp, he rushed to the stage - slipping past monsters, chairs, and tables - of the room which elevated him, giving him a nice view of the entire dining hall.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen!" Drac announced. "Ghouls and ghosts! First off, I would like to thank you all for staying with Hotel Transylvania in these troubling times."

Johnny came and sat at Mavis's table. She noticed him sit down but paid him no attention.

"However, this place is more than just a refuge," Drac explained. "As some of you may know, my daughter's one-hundred-and-twenty-seventh birthday is coming up in just a few days. Leading up to the big party, I have an activity planned."

"Is it Bingo?" asked a monster from the crowd.

"Unfortunately, no," answered Drac.

The crowd began to cheer. Everyone but Drac hated Bingo at the Hotel. He let the noise die down before he began to talk, but it took a good minute or so for the monsters to let their excitement fade away.

"It's something we've never done before," Drac promised. "I present to you..."

A large banner from the top of the stage unfolded itself downward until it kissed the floor. On it was the Hotel Transylvania logo as well as large, golden words that read...

"The Monster Marathon!" announced Drac.

The large, cricket-monster took it upon himself to make the cricket noise in the silent room. Drac had never been so embarrassed in his life. He was expecting cheers from the crowd, but all he got was silence and coughs.

"Come on, guys," he pleaded. "This is a big deal."

"What is it?" asked a gremlin from the crowd.

"The most daring of you monsters will compete in a tournament," Drac explained. "Your wits and physicality will be tested against each other. With each trial, some of these monsters will be eliminated. The winner of the Monster Marathon will receive the greatest amount of respect from their peers, immortalization within Monster history, a grand trophy, and most importantly... A one-hundred dollar gift card to Jamba Juice."

His announcement then received applause. However, the fact that a good amount of monsters were chanting "Jamba Juice" made Drac weary about their convictions.

Back at Al's and Mavis' tables, Drac's friends were discussing amongst themselves the spontaneity of it all.

"I wonder what trials he's talking about," said Wayne.

"I really hope the pups aren't eligible to compete," Wanda said. "You know how they get when they're competitive."

"You don't think he's going to involve fire, do you?" asked Frank.

"I'm going to sit this one out," Eunice revealed. "I don't want to break a nail."

"I was born to win this," Griffin boasted.

"I knew my trip here would be made worthwhile," said Lily.

Blobby jiggled.

"I'm going to show these monsters how we humans are stronger than we look," Johnny promised.

"Mommy, can I play?" Dennis requested.

"Monster Hunters are on the loose and kidnapping us, and Dracula wants to hold the monster Olympics," summarized Al. "Oh, what the hell. I could go for some Jamba Juice."

"This is either going to go amazingly," Mavis muttered, "or awfully. Given our track record, it's probably the latter."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think.

Sorry this chapter took a little longer to upload. I've just been so busy with other things, lately. Everyday, I try to write a scene in each chapter. I like my chapters to be longer than normal fan fictions to give readers the feeling that they're reading professionally written books. This is why the writing process takes me roughly a week: a few days to write and one day to edit.

Are you guys okay with long chapters? This is probably the shortest chapter I've written (word-wise) at around 5,500 words. Would you guys prefer it if I cut down the chapter length? That way, I'll upload more frequently, and you'll read each chapter in a shorter amount of time. However, longer chapters allow me to present to you guys the meatiest, most professional content.

I'm contemplating changing the genre for this story. It's part fantasy for sure. The "Fantasy" genre stays. However, it's the "Mystery" genre that's debatable. What do you guys think? Is it a different genre than mystery?

Ciao.


	7. Fast and Furious

Foreword: This chapter is not told linearly and the scenes do not occur chronologically. Keep this in mind to avoid confusion.

 **Fast and Furious**

Al put his earbuds in before stretching for the race. One of his favorite songs of all time - Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer - began to pump him up.

The first trial in Hotel Transylvania's Monster Marathon was a simple multi-stage race. It would begin from the Hotel courtyard, and the contestants would have to run between a series of pairs of flags. They would have to follow the flags to the finish line. The difficulty in the task was that the route was unknown. Who knew what physical trials there would be during the race?

A great number of individuals turned up to participate in the competition. Al, Lily, Mavis, Johnny, Frank, Wayne, Griffin, and Blobby all had volunteered to take part in the race. Besides them, the contestants were made up of a variety of monsters such as cyclopses, yetis, lizard-people, gremlins, and much more. There were about fifty competitors in all.

To give enough space for the competitors in the courtyard, spectators for the competition were inside the Hotel. Although the non-competing monsters could not directly witness the events, hidden cameras have been set up all over the path. From the Hotel's own televisions, monsters would be able to watch the Monster Marathon as if they were watching the Olympics.

Those who wanted the most fun out of their viewing would come to the Hotel lobby where large televisions were set up everywhere. In the lobby, the monsters had the influence of the crowd to cheer at the top of their lungs.

Dracula and Dennis were behind the front desk, facing the backs of all of the monsters who came down to witness the race. Next to them was a microphone so Drac could tell the runners when they could start.

The competitors had little restrictions placed on them for the race. They were allowed to use any dirty tactic they could to slow their opponents down. Any powers they possessed was fair to use. It was a race for monsters, after all. There had to be something to make it more interesting than a human race. However, the racers were not allowed to cheat by skipping any flags. Doing so would result in disqualification.

Al cracked his knuckles and his neck. Once again, he found himself being near Mavis. At least he had Lily next to him, and it was nice to have company who didn't despise your guts.

"Good luck, Mavis," Al offered.

"I don't need luck," Mavis said. "I've lived here all my life. There's not a nook and cranny I don't recognize. I can make the run."

"I'd watch that confidence if I were you," Al warned. "I'd hate to be beaten by an underdog."

"This is supposed to be a friendly competition," lectured Lily. Both Mavis and Al turned to look at the Succubus who was to Al's left. "So, make sure you two keep it friendly. I'd hate to have to break up a fight. It'd be terrible for Dracula's daughter and a vigilante from New York to get each other eliminated this early in the competition. Speaking of, if you let little old me beat you, then I'd be super disappointed."

To advance onto the next trial of the competition, they didn't need to take first place. They didn't even need to break the top ten. The last ten to finish the race would be eliminated from the trials - meaning that the first forty to make it to the finish line would continue through with the competition and get eliminated further down.

Elsewhere, Drac's friends were reminding themselves about their past experiences. The race was a great memory trigger. Sometimes, they'd like nothing more than to go back in time and relieve the days of their prime.

"I can't remember the last time we competed like this," Frank said.

"We were in our one-hundreds," said Griffin, reminiscing about his smoldering good looks in his younger days.

"You guys should watch yourself," Wayne warned. "This old dog has some new tricks up his sleeve."

Nearby, Johnny was pumping himself up. Unlike everyone else, Johnny was not wearing his normal clothing; he wore actual attire. As a human, he needed every advantage he could get. Monsters were - generally - athletically gifted to almost cartoonish degrees. In order to have a shot at coming out on top, he had to be lighter.

Mavis observed her husband as he did his jumping jacks in place. She had no idea what his thought process was - jumping jacks would not help him win the race. However, she reckoned that she shouldn't be as confident as she was for easily taking first place. As a result, she began stretching her legs and their muscles.

"Let's do this!" Johnny exclaimed. He almost bumped into a furry monster when he made his pumped-up physical motions.

"You only need to be in the top forty to win, honey," reminded Mavis.

"Are you saying you don't think I can win first place?"

"I didn't say that," Mavis argued, "but you're right. You won't win first place. That spot is mine. I'm sorry, honey, but us vampires kick human butts all the time."

"I'll have you know, Mavey, that we humans are criminally underrated," started Johnny. "Sure, we might not be as strong as you, fast as you, smart as you, intimidating as you, or immortal like you, but there's a reason why we humans are a force to be reckoned with. We have the heart and courage to survive and fight another day. Whenever we get shot down, we'll get right back up. You monsters have life too easy, so when you get shot down, you don't know how to recover. This human spirit gives me the motivation to be swifter than any monster during this race, and when I take first place, I'll look down upon you all and say - Where'd everyone go?"

Johnny was standing alone in the plaza. Drac had given the runners the order to begin the race as Johnny was making his speech. No one bothered to nudge Johnny to get going. Already, he was at a disadvantage.

* * *

Earlier...

"Dad, what is going on with you?" Mavis asked as she followed her father through the Hotel hallway. Drac had just given his announcement about the Monster Marathon, and his daughter wanted to have a quick word with him.

"What do you mean, honey-spider?" Drac asked. He had a large grin on his face. Truth be told, he was not expecting such a positive reaction from the crowd as a response to the event. He was incredibly proud of himself because he managed to make so many happy in the worst of times with only a small period of time.

"The Monster Marathon seems to be a good idea," Drac defended. "The guests love it, and - "

"I'm not talking about the competition," Mavis clarified. "I'm talking about Alucard."

"Eh... Care to elaborate?"

"What are you hiding, Dad? Every time he's around, you act... different. Every time he mentions his mother, you get nervous. And it's not just you, either. Uncle Wayne, Uncle Frank, and Uncle Griffin got just as nervous."

"You're making things up," Drac insisted. Once again, his voice and tone made it clear he was lying or at least avoiding the truth. "We don't get nervous."

"Dad, you're acting like a kindergartener being asked about his crush," compared Mavis. "Given that I know you well for who you are, I doubt that you act like you do because you have a crush on Al. So, tell me what's the problem?"

"There is no - "

"Dad, you've lied to me more times than I can count. I'm getting so sick of it. I thought you were over it, but I guess not. I can't even express how disappointed I am in you. Even after all of these years, you can't trust me."

"I trust you with my life," Drac rebutted.

He sighed as they got into the elevator at the end of the hallway. Mavis wasn't sure where her father was going, but she didn't care. She was going to have her questions answered one way or another.

"Listen, Mavey," Drac said, "the things I might know can change him. Heck, it might even change you. I know a thing or two about his mother which he definitely does not. It's not right to tell you before I tell him."

Mavis wasn't satisfied with the non-answer Drac gave her, but it was a start for the full picture.

"But you _will_ tell me?" Mavis inquired.

Drac and Mavis entered the elevator. He then clicked the button which would bring them to the floor Drac's room was on.

"When the time is right, and when Al is comfortable, I will tell him," revealed Drac. "Then, I will tell you. The time is not right, though. I need you to trust your old man."

Mavis did not like it one bit. She was sick and tired of all the secrets. However, she trusted her father. No matter how many times he would hide truths from her, he always had justification.

"Okay..." Mavis agreed. "But, tell me one thing. I have this suspicion. Whatever secrets you're hiding, does this have anything to do with his father?"

"This has _everything_ to do with his father."

* * *

Later...

The first part of the race was - hypothetically - breeze to go through. Simply put, it was a straight track from the courtyard to the bridge through the tunnel leading to the Hotel and out into the forest track. However, it was the roughness of the monsters which made it more difficult than it should have been.

" _Tommy used to work on the docks,_ " sang Al. " _Union's been on strike / He's down on his luck / It's tough, so tough._ "

The narrowness of the path meant a lot of monsters were bumping into each other from shoulder to shoulder. This slowed a lot of them down, especially in the tunnel. Some of the monsters were gifted with flight - such as Lily - so they used their wings to hover over their opponents and through the tunnel.

Al transformed into a bat and darted above the monsters who couldn't fly. Mavis was behind him and took a page from his book when she transformed herself and followed him.

 _"Gina works the diner all day / Working for her man, she brings home her pay for love / For love"_

The two were faster than most of the other flying monsters so they easily took first and second. It would've been easy to stay in their bat forms during the race - and it certainly was allowed - but for the same reason Mavis didn't use her freezing powers on the other monsters, they didn't take full advantage of being vampires. The sport of the competition would've been removed.

So, when they exited the tunnel, they transformed back into their normal forms and sprinted alongside each other. Despite not communicating with each other their sportsmanship ideaology, they both were thinking the same thing despite their personal differences.

"You think we should slow down for them?" Al asked.

"Be my guest," Mavis replied. She timed a swipe of her foot so it would hit Al's ankle as he ran. As a result, he fell forward - slamming his face on the ground. It was a dirty play, but it was allowed. She felt an obligation to play fair for the other monsters. Al was an exception for obvious reasons.

Things were getting fairly violent behind Mavis. Frank's size allowed him to trample anyone in his path. He ran through the tunnel like a football player. Griffin was being bumped into more times than he could handle because his invisibility made it so that barely anyone could tell if they were running into him. Wayne's natural dog-like instincts and abilities allowed him to run on all fours past most of the monsters.

Johnny started off with a disadvantage. However, the traffic the monsters created allowed him to catch up with the crowd in the tunnel. He was skinnier than most of the participants, so he had the ability to slip through in between spaces. He was also quicker than the average monster. So, those factors allowed him to get though the tunnel without injury - ahead of many other monsters.

Al still was ahead of a fairly large amount of the competitors, despite having fallen.

"Are you okay?" said a familiar voice to Al.

He felt a soft hand rub his back.

"Lily?" Al asked. He instantly recognized her presence. As he got up, he asked, "Don't wait up for me. Go on ahead."

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't down for the count," Lily revealed. "I did say I didn't want you going down on the first trial."

The rapid steps of a large crowd of running monsters approached them from behind. A few monsters - mostly fliers - were already passing Al and Lily.

"I don't deserve you." Al smiled. He then used his enhanced speed to dash away in the direction of the monsters who managed to pass him.

 _"She says, we've got to hold on to what we've got / It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not"_

Lily giggled as she broke out into a run. She was slower than Al, but matching her speed was a challenge for most competitors.

 _"We've got each other, and that's a lot for love / We'll give it a shot"_

* * *

Earlier...

"So, you're the reason behind modern day human and monster harmony?" Al asked as he sat himself down at Johnny's breakfast table. He managed to slip away as Drac's friends were discussing amongst themselves the upcoming Monster Marathon.

"Al!" greeted Johnny and Dennis.

Mavis was not present. She left the table to follow her father out of the dining hall.

"I can't take all the credit," Johnny said. "Mavey is my better half, and she had just as big of a hand in it as I did."

"I'll be sure to bring it up with her," said Al, nodding. "Although, I doubt she'll let me have a meaningful conversation with her."

"So, you know she doesn't like you?" Johnny asked.

Al nodded. "She isn't really making an effort to hide it."

"You can say that again," Johnny mumbled.

Dennis was sitting at the table with them. He understood the drama of what was going on between his new teacher and his mother from the conversation he had just overheard. He was young and naive, but he recognized how basic it was to like or dislike someone.

"Why doesn't Mommy like Al?" Dennis asked, looking at his father.

"Uh..." Johnny said, thinking about the best way to answer his son. He really didn't want to get poor, young Dennis stuck in the stickiness of the situation. He was too young and innocent to get involved in such drama.

"Don't worry about that, Dennis," requested Al. "Your mom thinks I'm a shady character - rightfully so. Eventually, she'll warm up to me. What really matters, though, is that _you_ like me enough to continue learning under me."

Dennis smiled. "Yeah," he agreed.

"I didn't realize a vigilante could be so good with kids," admitted Johnny.

"I'm terrible with kids, truth be told. Most of them are needy, annoying, little gremlins. Uh, no offense to any gremlins, of course. But, Dennis is the exception," revealed Al. "He and I are both half-human, half-vampire after all. It's something that's a bit of a rarity. Besides, I need to - How do I put this? Build new relationships here. It sounds corny, but it's what my mom would've wanted. I didn't make a lot of friends in New York because there weren't a lot of people I _could_ befriend."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Johnny related. "I was always the lone wolf. Y'know... Striking out on my own. Solo. Few attachments. I'm cool like that. Maybe that's why Mavis fell for me so hard: she was into the cool, edgy, mysterious types."

"Fascinating," muttered Al. He was truly taken aback by Johnny's self image. "Your hairstyle contradicts your claims of being edgy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were _trying_ to impress me."

"What?! No!" denied Johnny, pulling on the collar of his shirt. He couldn't sense the sarcasm in Al's voice.

"In that hypothetical scenario," Al continued, "I'd tell you that you don't need to try so hard. You seem like a good guy, Johnny. A better man than me, that's for sure. You and Mavis have done a fine job raising that kid."

Johnny - who was sitting next to Dennis - rubbed his son's hair.

"That's really cool of you to say, Al," Johnny thanked.

"Yeah, well, try not to get used to it. Coming from me, you should know that nice words don't come free."

Johnny instantly became uncomfortable. He was questioning Al's intentions in his head. A minute ago, he was led to believing that Al genuinely liked him. However, the vampire's ulterior motives may undermine his compliments.

"What do you know about my mother?" Al asked.

"Why would I know anything?" Johnny asked.

"You're a part of Dracula's inner circle," stated Al. "I can tell that he was hiding something when I talked to him. The chances that he told you something are good. He might have told Mavis something, but there's no way in hell she'd give that information to me. That's why I've come to you."

"Al, I can't help you," Johnny apologized. "If there is something Drac knows, he hasn't said anything about it me. If you want the truth, you'll have to ask him yourself."

Al could tell how nervous Johnny had just become. Johnny's spaking speed was accelerated as if he wanted to get words out like his life depended on it. He was sinking back into his chair. His eyes showed genuine fear.

Dennis did not understand the severity of the situation, nor did he sense hostility in Al's tone. That was because Al wasn't trying to be hostile. The child _was_ bright enough to recognize that his father was in an awkward position, however.

"Relax, Johnny," Al insisted. "I didn't mean to make you nervous. I'm sorry I pushed. Not a great topic to talk about among new friends, huh? My social skills are - let's say - below average. I spend half my time making men holding knives while wearing ski-masks stain their pants."

"Yeah," Johnny uncomfortably agreed, letting out a courteous laugh.

Al's interest in Drac's secrets was something Johnny completely sympathized with, although - to his knowledge - Drac has always been transparent with him. Unlike Mavis, Johnny was always trusted with information from Drac because his reaction was always predictably relaxed. This wasn't anything against the girl, however. Strong, mutual trust between men has been practiced since before people could speak.

Al grabbed himself an empty chalice on the table and filled it up with a blood substitute from a carton sitting in the middle of the table among the food. He took a sip, encouraging Johnny and Dennis to sip their own drinks.

"It must be so exciting to have your life," Johnny pivoted. "I thought I had it great back in the day, but - "

"Wait, aren't you only - like - thirty?" Al asked.

"That's besides the point," asserted Johnny. "You're a superhero, Al. What's that feel like?"

"Sleeping all day and punching thugs all night? Of course, that happens on good nights. On slow nights, I fly stray animals to the shelter. Whenever I'm taking a break, I just sit on a high place and brood. It's the life. Although, I lived with my mother so I lose some points for that."

"Yeah, but I bet you're not scared of anything," Dennis added.

"You're very wrong," Al denied.

"Oh?" Johnny asked. "What's a vigilante scared of?"

"Don't worry about it," Al said.

That was not something anyone could let go, though. Dennis and Johnny wouldn't stop insisting to Al that he tell them his secret. It took about thirty seconds of pressure for Al to finally give in to their demands.

When he told them, they didn't laugh.

"I completely get it," Johnny empathized.

"They're pretty scary," Dennis agreed.

"Right?! Anyway, I want to move on to something else that's scary. Johnny, I'm a little concerned about your son's musical tastes," Al revealed. "Have you had any influence on it?"

"No way," Johnny denied. "I don't let Dennis listen to the stuff I listen to."

"Hm..." Al began to rub his chin. He then quickly asked Dennis, "Who's your favorite singer?"

"Selena Gomez," the child answered.

"Dammit, Mavis," Al cursed. He didn't want to think about Mavis anymore. He was, however, quite intrigued with what Johnny had to say about his own musical tastes. Johnny struck out as a guy who would share most of Al's playlist.

"And what would your favorite bands be, Johnny?" Al asked.

"The Lonely Island," Johnny listed.

"Unconventional, but I approve," said Al. He then began to sip from his chalice.

"And LMFAO," continued Johnny.

Al nearly spit out his drink. He did, however, cough with his mouth closed with the drink swishing around between his cheeks. It didn't take long for Al to stop looking like he was choking.

"Johnny, LMFAO is more outdated than Nickelback," Al lectured.

"What's Nickelback?"

"Exactly!" Al exclaimed. "For the sake of what is good in this world, delete all of their songs from your phone."

"Oh, yeah?" Johnny asked. "If you think you're so much better than me, then what do you listen to?"

Al chuckled, saying, "My friend... Prepare to be enlightened."

* * *

Later...

The race trail led off of the road and into the forest. There, the ground would not be smooth, and it would be much easier for monsters to trip and fall. The trees made it so that everyone would have to constantly change directions. Furthermore, flying would be incredibly difficult and almost discouraged, so everyone was on an even playing field.

Al spotted Mavis not too far ahead of him. To his knowledge, she was in the lead.

" _Oh, we're halfway there / Oh-oh, living on a prayer,_ " mumbled Al, singing along to his music.

It didn't take long for him to get a few feet behind her. She quickly whipped her head around to catch a glimpse of who was behind her, and she wasn't surprised.

"I was waiting for you to show your face again," Mavis revealed.

She ran straight towards a tree in front of them with a low-hanging branch. As she ran past it, she pulled the branch with her and let it go. The purpose of that was to make it smack Al. However, he was slick enough to narrowly dodge the incoming branch by sliding on the ground and getting back up.

The two continued to run through the forest, following the flags. The flags made them zig and zag and turn and circle around. Without guidance, one would've surely been lost in the woods for an eternity.

Mavis and Al took turns taking the lead. They both had their strengths and weaknesses. Al was great at accelerating - an ability which made it easy for him to catch up to Mavis. However, Mavis was consistent with her high running speed. When she had the lead over Al, she'd keep it for longer than he could.

The path then opened back up into the long forest clearing where the main road was built. The flags would turn them towards the direction of the Hotel. Both instantly knew how the end of the race would look like: a straight sprint to the Hotel courtyard. They would end where it all began.

Al and Mavis gave each other looks that said "I'm number one." They then broke out into the quickest sprint of their lives. Unfortunately for both of them, they were running side by side.

"Do you think you'll trust me a bit more after I win this?" Al asked.

"First off, trust doesn't work like that," Mavis replied. "Secondly, _I'm_ going to win this."

Even as they re-entered the tunnel to the Hotel bridge, they were still evenly matched. Even as they made the sprint across the bridge, no one was ahead. Even as they saw the red ribbon which signified the entrance into the courtyard and the end of the race, they couldn't outrun the other person.

Inside, the observing monsters watched in suspense to see who would come out on top.

* * *

Later...

"Congratulations on tying the race," Drac told Al and Mavis.

Drac took the lead of the group. Al was following directly behind him, and Mavis - holding Dennis's hand - walked behind Al. They walked through the recreational courts of the Hotel. Around them were different sport courts full of monsters. Tennis, basketball, and badminton playing monsters were enjoying the competitive play and each other's company.

"I can't say it concluded the way I'd have liked, but thanks anyway," Al said. "Although, I wouldn't mention it in front of Mavis again. There's a good chance she'll throw up."

"I'm liking you more and more every minute," Mavis chided. "It's funny; I've never seen anyone try so hard to impress a girl. For a succubus, she's playing a little too hard to get, don't you think?"

"It's amazing how insecure the literal spawn of the Prince of Darkness can be," retorted Al. "You jealous of her?"

"I'm married with a kid," Mavis reminded. "For someone who likes to live a comic book fantasy, that was a low blow."

"Enough!" Drac ordered. "Both of you! You're acting like children."

"Great," Al said. "Give her a time out, will you?"

Dennis was incredibly upset because of the banter between Al and Mavis. He loved his mother, and he revered Al. To see them at odds tore him up inside. He had no idea who he should side with, nor did he know if he should even take a side. He did feel the responsibility to end the tension, however.

"Papa Drac," Dennis said, letting go of his mother's hand and running ahead to walk next to his grandfather. "Where are we going?"

"Excellent question, Denisovich," complimented Drac. "Check this out."

He led them to an empty tennis court with the net removed. At the end of the court was a large, grey, metallic, rectangular box with a door. It looked like it could fit a man. Al had the stinking suspicion that that was the box's true purpose. Mavis, Dennis, and Al stayed on the end opposite to the box while Drac crossed the court to stand next to it.

"Oh, don't tell me this is a kidnapping," Al muttered.

"It's a test," Drac revealed. "I know there's more than meets the eye with you, Alucard. Tell me: What do you know about prime vampires?"

"Dad, where are you going with this?" Mavis asked.

Both she and Al gave each other mutual looks of confusion.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart," Drac said. "Al, what's your answer?"

"I know that prime vampires are rare," Al answered. "They have powers normal vampires don't. I also know that you and your family are prime vampires."

"And what about you?" Drac asked.

"My mother wasn't a prime vampire," Al revealed. "My father was human. It's impossible for me to be a prime vampire."

"He hasn't shown any signs of him being capable of using those powers, Dad," Mavis reminded.

"That's what you think you two think you know. But, I still have my suspicions," said Drac. "I'm here to test my theory. I think you're a prime vampire, Alucard. For me to be sure, I need to test you. Johnny told me what you're scared of. Prepare to face your fears."

With that, Drac opened the door of the box.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note:

Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think.

Admittedly, this story isn't as fast paced as I originally planned it. When I was writing for Frozen fanfiction, I added countless action scenes. I'd like to think that this story is more of a character study.

Don't worry, however. Starting next chapter, things are going to get a lot more exciting. Stay tuned for all the twists and turns the story will take.

Ciao.


	8. The Rivals

**The Rivals**

Al, Mavis, and Dennis watched in anticipation of what was going to come out of the box Drac had opened. Of course, Al knew exactly what would come out. He regretted telling Johnny his greatest fear. He didn't realize Johnny was so weak willed when it came to protecting secrets, and he promised himself to never trust Johnny with any secret ever again.

Dennis grabbed onto his mother's hand. He was trembling with fear. Despite being a vampire, Dennis was still a child, and most children were scared of the unknown. Admittedly, Mavis was a little tense herself. What concerned her the most - however - was how exactly Drac planned to awaken Al's alleged prime vampire powers if Al wasn't a prime vampire.

A foot came out of the box. When it made contact with the ground, Al felt as if the earth was shaking. Mavis and Dennis watched in confusion as they realized that the foot was covered in a large, long, red, and shiny shoe.

From out of the box came a clown. He was dressed in a rainbow-striped jumpsuit over a white shirt. He had basic clown make-up put on him capped off by a large, red nose, and colorful, frizzy hair.

Despite the clown's obnoxious grin, Al nearly jumped back and ran away. He did yell, however. His yell wasn't loud enough to attract the attention of all the other monsters in the sport courts, so they were saved from embarrassment.

"Ah!" Al yelled. He stepped back and hid behind Mavis. She wasn't very amused by Al's cowardice.

"It's just a clown, Al," Mavis trivialized.

"He's an agent of death," asserted Al.

"H - Hey, kids!" The clown announced. The clown saw that there wasn't an audience of children in front of him, but continued on with his act. "My name's BoJo the Clown! What's your name?"

"Dennis!" exclaimed the child as he ran towards BoJo. From out of nowhere, Blobby slid over to the clown and began to vibrate in excitement. It was an odd sight to see to be sure, but it wasn't something Blobby hadn't done before.

"I don't get what your problem is, Al," said Mavis.

"Have you seen 'It'?" Al asked. "I'd rather _keep_ my arm, thank you very much."

"The Fang of New York is scared of men in make-up?" Mavis asked. "That's a big confidence booster."

"Hey," BoJo said after making Dennis a balloon monkey. He pointed at Al's peeking head over Mavis's shoulder. "Don't be shy! Come on out!"

Mavis stepped to the side to reveal Al - cowering in fear - to the clown. She smirked, crossed her arms, and took her place beside her son. Al was incredibly shocked. He had hoped that Mavis would at least respect him enough to not make him face such an ordeal, but he was evidently wrong. She really did hate his guts.

"What's your name?" BoJo asked as he slowly approached Al. The vampire slowly stepped backwards - away from the clown. Still, he was facing the clown with his arms raised to defend himself. In case BoJo did anything hostile, Al would be prepared.

"I am the Fang," Al announced. "I defend New York from the night terrors that may harm it. You shall submit to my will or suffer as my enemies have suffered." His voice cracked at one point during the speech.

"The Fang?" BoJo asked. "That's a silly name. You look like the kind of guy who needs more love in his life. How about I give you a great, big hug?"

"Don't you dare come anymore closer or I will suck all of the blood from your body," threatened Al.

BoJo began to jog towards Al with his arms extended. There was no way that the clown listened to Al's threat. It was as if the clown has heard worse things in his career. That wasn't impossible, either. A good percentage of people all around the world hated clowns.

The few seconds of the approaching clown were the slowest in Al's life. Not even when the Hunters held his mother at blade-point did he feel as scared as he did at that moment. Ironic was the most appropriate word to describe a vigilante with a fear of something as mundane as clowns.

Al closed his eyes and held his hand out in front of him, pointing at BoJo. It was his idea of a last stand. Much to his surprise, many seconds passed by and no individual wrapped their arms around him. This made Al very confused. The clown would've grabbed onto him at that point. When he heard gasps, he realized something was very wrong.

He opened one eye to look at what was in front of him. A few feet away, BoJo was frozen mid-run. His body was temporarily surrounded by a field of green energy, but it disappeared. It was just like how Drac, Mavis, Vlad, and Dennis froze people. It was just like how a prime vampire would freeze people.

"What the hell?" Al muttered.

"It can't be," Mavis said.

"He's just like us?" Dennis asked.

Blobby vibrated.

"I knew it," said Drac as he walked passed his family and BoJo. The clown darted his eyes in confusion.

Al was examining his hands when Drac placed his own hand on Al's shoulder.

"My boy," Drac announced, "you are a prime vampire."

"How?" Al asked. "My mother was a normal vampire. My father was - "

"I don't have all the answers," Drac replied. "For now, just know that you're a goldmine of untapped potential."

* * *

 _Steve walks warily down the street / With the brim pulled way down low_

From the last round, only very obscure participants were eliminated. Al and Mavis - obviously - advanced. Johnny barely made the cut. Drac's friends were average participants, but in the first trial, being average was just enough to pass.

The second trial took place the night after the first trial - the night after Al learned that he was a prime vampire. Drac promised to help him get used to his new powers and lifestyle at a later time, and Al accepted his offer. Still, Al was incredibly bothered by it all. He needed answers, and he needed them soon.

 **"Who likes to go on Easter egg hunts? The next trial is simple. There are thirty-five shrunken heads in this area of the forest. Bring back a head, and you'll advance to the next trial. The last five who do not bring back a head are eliminated."**

The sounds of complaining shrunken heads were everywhere. They were so common that they couldn't be used as clues to indicate whether a competitor was getting closer or farther from one of them. Too many voices speaking at the same time made it impossible to follow one's ear.

The variety of places they were hidden made for great sport. Some were hidden under rocks - making their complaints muffled. Some were in the branches of trees which annoyed all. Some were located in the mouths of various woodland critters. The monsters who decided to chase these animals looked particularly funny.

The heads were only hidden in the confines of a certain forest area near the Hotel. This prevented monsters from looking too far away and kept people from wandering off to be at the mercy of any and all dangers. Once again, hidden cameras were established everywhere for the viewing pleasure of the guests.

It was about ten minutes into the competition when Al found his shrunken head. He grinned as he bent down to pick it up from under the pile of leaves it was buried under.

"Good job, sugah," sarcastically congratulated the head. "You got one of the easy ones. You must feel _so_ proud of yourself."

"I could throw you into a lake," Al suggested. "Then, I'd dive in after you and get you. Would I have worked hard enough for you then?"

Needless to say, the shrunken head silenced itself.

"Took you long enough," Mavis's voice said from above.

It was impossible to miss Mavis sitting on a long, sturdy branch of a tree. She spun her shrunken head on her fingertip like a basketball player would spin their basketball. She ignored the wailing from the head.

* * *

 _Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet / Machine guns ready to go_

 **"Endurance testing is always a great competitive activity. Let's see which of you guys can handle eating a chicken wing dipped in Super Ultra Mega Spicy Chile Fire Death Sauce with Honey. I don't know why they add the "Honey" part in the name but they did and here we are. The first five of you to drink from your glass goblets are eliminated. If no one grabs for their drinks, the first thirty of you to finish the wing to the bone advance. Those who can't take the heat are out of the game."**

The thirty-five contestants sat around various tables in the dining hall. Most tables had only pairs of people save for the one seating Frank, Wayne, and Griffin. Other than them, the table pairings were what anyone would've expected: Mavis and Johnny, Al and Lily, etc.

The gargoyle and zombie servants brought silver platters to each and every seated contestant. In the middle of each platter was a decently sized chicken drumstick covered in a glowing red sauce. There wasn't really anything supernatural about the sauce, either. It was glowing because of its clear nuclear potency.

It was common knowledge that monsters ate unconventional things from spiders to monkey brains. The line was drawn at spicy foods, however. Monsters were just as susceptible to spicy human foods as humans were. Many were very weak to the taste because of how uncommonly they consumed them. The spicy wing would definitely be a challenge to all.

"That's it?" Frank asked his friends at the table. "Drac wants us to face off by eating a wing?"

"Don't underestimate Drac," Wayne warned. "You heard all the adjectives in the sauce name."

"Oh, please, Wayne," interrupted Griffin. "This is Frank we're talking about. He can eat anything."

"Begin," announced Drac from his position on the stage of the dining room.

"Watch this," Frank said as he picked up the chicken wing with two fingers and tossed it into his mouth. He smirked at his friends.

It didn't take very long for his smirk to die. Widened eyes of fear presented themselves on his previously calmed face.

"FIRE!" Frank yelled as he breathed literal fire. They had no idea how that was possible. Instantly, he grabbed all of the glasses of water on the table and threw them into his mouth. He started swishing around the water in his mouth like one would swish mouth wash. He then began to feed on the glass with a smile of relief.

"You're out, Frank!" Drac announced.

"Oh, come on," Frank complained. "It was as if you designed this trial against me on purpose."

Elsewhere, people weren't having a good time with their meals.

Mavis dug her nails into her palm and slammed the table with her fist. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to imagine herself in a better situation. The spicy drumstick was more painful than going into labor.

When she opened her eyes, she found that Johnny was already done with his chicken and wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"How did you finish it already?" Mavis asked. She was genuinely concerned.

"I used to put that sauce in my cereal back in high school," Johnny revealed.

Nearby, Blobby grabbed his drumstick and stuck it inside himself. He technically consumed it with no problems. All that was left was for it to break down inside him. He willed his body to consume the chicken, and the meat began to disappear inside him until there was nothing left but bone.

At Al's table, the vigilante himself was sticking his tongue out and fanning it with his hands. Lily was nibbling on the edge of her drumstick, and she made sure she paced herself so that she wouldn't take the full force of the spiciness.

"Oh, that's hot," said Al. "Still, it's not as hot as you."

"What a charmer you are," Lily complimented.

* * *

 _Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this? / Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?_

 **"Dodgeball! In the case, it'll be Dodge Balls of Death! Twenty nine monsters left - plus Johnny - means that you'll all be split into two teams of fifteen. The first ten to be struck on either team are out of the Monster Marathon. I suggest that all of you try to participate to the best of your ability. If more and more people on your team are getting eliminated, then you're just going to become a bigger and bigger target."**

They used the Hotel's own gymnasium with bleachers to host the dodgeball game. The seats were completely filled by monsters of all shapes and sizes.

What was really either strange or fortuitous was that Al and Mavis were put on the same team as well as Johnny, Wayne, Blobby, and Griffin. Lily was - unfortunately - on the opposing side. Frank was eliminated from the competition because of his failure during the previous round. The remaining monsters on each side weren't very noteworthy.

In the center was a line of balls. There was a spiked ball, a ball on fire, a normal dodgeball, and a balloon covered in bubblewrap.

Drac allowed Dennis to blow the whistle to begin the game. When the game began, Wayne ran on all fours to the center of the court and began to gnaw on the normal dodgeball. Griffin took it upon himself to drag his friend away from the center. Luckily, the crowd of fellow competitors passing by them to try to grab a ball made it so that Griffin and Wayne weren't big targets anymore.

Griffin had the unfair advantage in the game. Being invisible, he was almost impossible to target.

Lily's team managed to get their hands on the spiked ball and bubblewrap ball. Al's team got the remaining fire ball.

It took longer than expected for some people to get eliminated. However, perhaps the fact that Wayne wouldn't let go of his ball contributed to the slow game. At least some unexceptional monsters got struck out.

Al couldn't count how many balls were thrown at him. He managed to dodge them all like he was in the Matrix. Mavis was even more graceful when dodging. Both of them played rather defensively. Johnny spent the game running from end to end of his side of the court. There was no way he could compete with the monsters on the other team.

Mavis got the spiked dodgeball after eight monsters were eliminated. All of those monsters suffered injuries from the dangerous balls, but those injuries were far from fatal. There were a few burns, a few cuts, and a truckload of bruises.

In Mavis's line of sight was a succubus: Lily. Lily didn't seem to be paying Mavis any attention, and rather focusing on the monster who held the fire ball on the opposite team. Mavis saw her chance to get an easy elimination. She prepared to throw her ball at Lily, and when her arm was making its motion, she felt a bump to the side.

Mavis's throw was way off. It didn't go anywhere near Lily. It landed on the ground on the opposite side of the court where a skeleton grabbed it - despite having no muscles.

Mavis angrily turned to look at the one who sabotaged her throw, and she was not surprised to see that it was Al.

"Oh, you've got to be messing with me," Mavis muttered. "You sabotaged my shot so your girlfriend could advance?"

"You targeted her on purpose to piss me off," argued Al.

"I targeted her because she was an easy hit," revealed Mavis.

Both of them leaned backwards to dodge an incoming ball that was headed towards them.

"Only two eliminations needed to end the game," Mavis pointed out. At that moment, a slimy cyclops got eliminated from their team. Drac blew his whistle to call him out. "One elimination. Want her chances to be better? Get yourself out."

"Oh, you'd love that wouldn't you?"

"It'd make my week."

"In that case, I think I'll keep on playing. I really want to take a picture of your face when I spend that Jamba Juice gift card."

"Fine by me. Of course, don't cry too hard when I kick the rabies out of you. Don't worry, though. I always keep a tissue box around."

Drac blew the whistle once more. The tenth elimination was a skeleton on the enemy team. When the ball covered in bubble wrap hit him, he collapsed and his bones fell apart in a messy manner. Al and Mavis paid the skeleton no mind. As far as they were concerned, the game was the least of their worries.

As the competitors walked around the court to congratulate their peers on advancing, Al and Mavis continued their argument.

"You know what your problem is, Mavis?" Al asked. "You're all talk. When was the last time you made good on your threats? Probably never. I don't know why I took you seriously."

Mavis attempted to side-kick Al. She swung her leg up towards his body, but he managed to grab a hold of her leg and toss her aside. As she fell over, she transformed into a bat and flew towards Al with her fist raised. He wasn't expecting her to be so quick about it. Mavis landed a good punch on Al's cheek, making him fall over.

When Al fell, he got the attention of various monsters around them. The competitors on the court began to form a circle around the two. Al rubbed his cheek as he got up, and Mavis transformed back to normal.

"You sure you want to do this here?" Al asked, staring her down. "I'm not afraid to hit a girl, you know?"

"Just to show you I'm not all talk," Mavis confirmed. "I'll let you have the next throw."

Before Al could lunge at Mavis, Drac's voice broke through the crowd, asking, "What is going on here?" The Count appeared in between Mavis and Al not long after he saw the situation. Dennis sat on his shoulders. Johnny approached Drac and joined him at his side; Johnny seemed just as upset with the situation as Drac was.

"We were just settling our differences, Dad," Mavis explained.

"Friendly dispute," Al added.

"Save your differences for the trials," Drac ordered. "The rules apply to you two the same as they do for everybody, meaning that if this ever happens again, I'll have you both disqualified. Do you understand?"

"Yes," reluctantly answered Mavis.

"Crystal," Al muttered.

"Good," Drac said, although he didn't believe that the situation was handled. He did the best he could with the two. "Now, I need you two separated. Mavis, lets go."

"I'm an adult," Mavis reminded. "I don't need to - "

Drac's eyes turned red and he began to roar at Mavis. She raised her hand up - telling him that she got the memo. She took Dennis from Drac's shoulders and held him in her own arms. Glaring back at Al one more time, she followed her father out of the gymnasium as the spectators watched. Johnny hung his head down as he followed them.

Wayne and Griffin made their way to Al, and both put a hand on each of Al's shoulders. He welcomed the notion, but he wasn't really in the mood to be comforted or lectured.

"You two really need to stop biting at each other," Wayne suggested. "You're both good kids."

"I admit that I started it this time," said Al. "But, no matter how hard I tried before, she won't trust me. She won't even entertain the idea of liking me. Tell me, has this happened before?"

"Nope," Griffin said. "She's always really nice to everyone she meets. You must be a terrible person."

Wayne elbowed Griffin.

"Whatever," Al dismissed.

He walked away from them to look for Lily.

* * *

 _Out of the doorway the bullets rip / To the sound of the beat, yeah_

 **"Kayaking is a popular human activity. What was that? It's not popular? Well, then. Kayaking is a human activity. Why don't we try it? Everyone will partner up and get into a kayak. You will race down the river until you reach the end point. The first ten competitors to make it to the end advance."**

Once again, the pairings for the activity were predictable. Mavis and Johnny waited in their kayak, holding onto their paddles and grabbing onto the gravel and rocks of the riverbank. In the front was Mavis, and behind her was Johnny. They looked around to observe the pairings of their opponents: Alucard and Lily, Wayne and Griffin, a yeti and skeleton, two witches, a reptilian swamp monster and a cyclops, Blobby and a tentacle humanoid monster, two gremlins, a hairy cyclops and bull-creature, and a humanoid fly with a banshee.

The running river was very wide and relatively deep further out. It was thirty feet in width and twenty feet in depth at the maximum. The starting point was over shallow water on the banks. On each edge of the river were five kayaks; each with two competitors. The kayaks were placed in a line, but the ones at the end of the line got to start paddling first. When they reached the point of the next pair of kayaks, then those ones would be able to go and so on and so forth.

The river itself was not smooth. It was a struggle to even hold on to the bank for each and every team. Ahead, they knew they faced obstacles such as random water bombs which would blow them out of the water and random giant hammers which would knock them out of their kayaks. Furthermore, the river was unpredictable in its turns.

"Is your head in the game, Johnny?" Mavis asked.

"Yeah, but where is yours?" Johnny replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that you care more about Al than winning the game," he elaborated.

Drac stood nearby with a small number of spectators. They planned to run along the river to witness the race instead of staying in their rooms to watch it happen on their televisions. He blew the whistle, signaling the two kayaks at the end of the lines to start paddling. Mavis and Johnny were in front of the line, so they wouldn't have to worry about going too soon.

"He's not a good influence," argued Mavis.

"He's a great guy!" Johnny insisted.

Drac blew the whistle again, allowing the fourth teams in the line to go - joining the fifth teams side by side.

"So you're taking his side?" angrily asked Mavis.

"I'm not taking any sides," Johnny asserted. "I'm just saying that you're letting your paranoia cloud your judgment. Remember - at the gym - you tried to hit him first? You won't give him a chance.

"Rightfully so," confirmed Mavis. "He deliberately sabotaged me last game so he could look better in front of his girlfriend."

"I don't think they're - "

"That's besides the point, Johnny. He's selfish, he's arrogant, and he's manipulative. Might I add that he might be our enemy."

The whistle blew for the third teams.

"Mavis, he's none of those things. If you and him sat down together and had a meaningful conversation, I'm sure you'd get why everyone likes him so much."

"I'm tired of you trying to change my mind!"

"And I'm tired of you not listening!"

"I know it's not my place to say," shouted Al from the other edge of the river, "but you guys really need to go to couples therapy!"

The whistle blew again. It was Al's turn to go, so he and Lily paddled in next to the kayaks that started before them.

"We're done talking about this," Mavis stated, readying her paddle. She hated drifting further and further apart from her husband. If everything she said about Al was true, then division among family was beneficial for him. She refused to let him win like that.

"Agreed," Johnny said, preparing himself to get going.

He missed the days of his early relationship with Mavis. They were both so carefree and infatuated with each other. They'd hold countless conversations about countless topics. He loved listening to Mavis's voice telling him about monster life and history. She could never stop listening about the world outside of the Hotel. Their love for each other was strengthened with Dennis's entry into their lives.

Recent events have definitely strained their relationship without a doubt in the world. Both wished that it was a temporary thing. However, the strain was a result of stress. That stress wouldn't go away until the Hunters were dealt with. No one could predict when that would happen.

The final whistle blow gave Mavis and Johnny the go to fall in next to the rest of the kayakers. The real challenge was about to begin. They paddled rather quickly, passing a few competitors who were just barely building some good speed.

Nearby, Griffin was doing all the work in his kayak. He paddled side-to-side as hard as he could, but his hard work was not good enough to save them from last place. Wayne sat behind him, inspecting his paddle.

"How do I use this thing?" Wayne asked.

"Watch my arm movements!" ordered Griffin. Wayne then studied the paddle floating around the air and water.

It didn't take long for the competitors to reach the rapids of the river. This made it more difficult for them to traverse the river. Al and Lily were at the front, but they had to slow themselves down in order to keep themselves and their kayaks secured. Despite their slowness, they weren't saved from being wet.

Al was especially annoyed because he had his earbuds in, and he didn't want his phone to be damaged. He needed his music to motivate him through the competition.

" _Another one bites the dust_ ," Al sang. " _Another one bites the dust."_

The witches behind them saw their shot at taking the lead. They sped up, passed Al and Lily, and took first place for themselves. Both witches turned their heads to mock the vampire and succubus and unfortunately weren't looking at the water ahead of them.

"Should I tell them?" Lily asked.

"Absolutely not," answered Al.

 _And another one gone, and another one gone / Another one bites the dust_

The witches hit a black ball in the water which looked like a classic bomb. It exploded, but there was nothing dangerous inside. It was just very forceful. It forced the kayak of the witches flying into the air. Both women screamed as they flew upward. As they descended, they made sure to position their kayak so they'd land with the bottom of it touching the water. That way, they'd be able to keep on going.

However, when they landed, they found themselves in last place.

Wayne had gotten used to using his paddle, so he aided Griffin in speeding up. However, he preferred to use his paddle as a weapon rather than as a tool to move the kayak. Wayne tried to strike at his enemies with his paddle, but he picked a fight with a cyclops who watched one too many action movies.

The cyclops and werewolf began to duel with their paddles while their respective partners were tasked with controlling the kayaks. Wayne struck downward, but the cyclops blocked the attack. The cyclops attempted to jab at Wayne, but Wayne managed to move his torso back, dodging the attack. With a free hand, Wayne grabbed the cyclops's paddle and yanked it towards himself.

This resulted in the cyclops falling out of his kayak. To save himself from the water, the cyclops hugged the back of his kayak and attempted to climb back into it as Wayne and Griffin sped up past other competitors.

"Looks like that guy is getting... Salty," joked Wayne.

"Ye - Wait," Griffin said. "Are you making a pun?"

"I'd like to think so," confirmed Wayne.

"This is a river," reminded Griffin. "River water is not salty."

"Wish you'd have told me that before I said it," Wayne muttered.

"I thought it was common knowledge!"

As the waters smoothed out, the giant hammers began to appear. Connected from the trees besides the river, the hammers would fly horizontally over the river in a sweeping motion. Anyone who was too unlucky to dodge the danger would surely be knocked off of their kayak if not knocked out.

Blobby was not bothered by the hammers. He sat through them all. They would deform him for a second but he'd instantly reform himself. His tentacled partner ducked his head but used his tentacle arms to propel their kayak forward instead of using the paddle.

Most of the monsters were wise enough to keep their heads down for the hundred feet that the hammers made a danger zone. Two unlucky groups were knocked off of their kayaks. However, all was not lost for them. They technically didn't need to be on their kayaks to participate in the race. The rules only said that the first ten - groups or no - to make it to the end of the race would advance, and to finish the race they would need to be in the river.

Swimming was an option, but kayaks would make things so easier. So, the monsters who were knocked off swam rapidly towards their kayaks which were unfortunately floating away from them faster than they could swim to catch up to them.

Mavis didn't even realize it but she and Johnny had first place for a good while. Their only competition was - of course - Al and Lily, but the remaining monsters were far behind the pairs.

Mavis used her clairvoyance to see the finish line far ahead of them. The finish constituted of two large poles erected on both sides of the river with a banner connecting them which read "Finish." It couldn't have been anymore than three hundred feet away. Furthermore, it was a straight, smooth shoot to it.

She quickly turned her head around to find Al and Lily accelerating.

"I'm not tying this time," Mavis announced as she herself got faster.

Vampire abilities allowed her to propel her kayak at inhuman speeds. She used her strength and speed to accelerate faster than Al and Lily. Johnny wasn't able to keep up. He took his paddle out of the water because he was scared of slowing Mavis down in some way.

As Mavis got faster, her paddle placement got sloppier. Johnny found himself dodging the end of her paddle more times than he'd like.

"Mavey," Johnny called. "Hey, hon?! You need to calm down! Mavis!" No matter how many times he called her, she'd ignore him. Her eyes were set on the prize. She could taste victory. "Mavis, we pretty much won. You don't have to - "

Her paddle smacked Johnny's face with such force that it sent him falling back into the water. He heard a ringing in his ears and his vision became incredibly blurry. The next thing he knew was sinking in the river. He expected Mavis to have grabbed him already, but he felt no such thing.

When Johnny finally managed to get his vision cleared underwater, he saw something peculiar. From the depths of the river was a figure growing larger towards him. Only when it grabbed Johnny's ankle did he realize what he was looking at.

It was a monster, for sure. Johnny recognized the type of monster it was, and he recalled another one of its kind participating in the competition, although it was definitely not the same one. It was a reptilian humanoid with webbed fingers, feet, and fins on its head like the others of its kind. However, its skin was grey and its eyes were red - contrasting the normal green or red skin for those types of monsters.

It began to drag Johnny down deeper into the water. The human did his best to struggle and try to free his leg, but the monster's grip was strong. Air bubbles rapidly escaped from Johnny's mouth. He couldn't go much longer without air.

Johnny was just about to lose consciousness when Al swooped into his vision. The vampire grabbed the assailant's wrist and pulled it away from Johnny. He then punched the monster's face. However, the attack was slowed by the water, so it didn't do the damage Al hoped it would do.

The attacker had sharp finger nails. It scratched Al's belly, ripping his clothes. Blood began to seep out of the wound and floated out into the water. Al tried not to let it bother him, though. He punched the attacker in the face again, but made sure to add a knee to the gut.

Al grabbed the monster's arm and pulled it aside so it'd be farther away from Johnny. They continued to fight underwater. In a series of punches, blocks, and grabs, they began to tire themselves out. The monster managed to scratch Al's arm, resulting in bleeding in the water.

He grabbed the monster by the shoulder and continuously punched it in different areas of the body. After a punch to the face, a sharp tooth escaped its mouth.

Soon, Al got into a position where he could kick the monster's face with both feet. This allowed him to propel himself away from the creature and towards Johnny. He used it as an opportunity to grab him and swim upward. As Al swam up, he looked down to check the position of his opponent, but the monster wasn't there. It simply disappeared, and Al knew for a fact that it was still lurking around somewhere.

There was only one reason a monster would be so malicious as to attack them: it was a Hunter.

When Al stuck his head out of the water, he didn't take a deep breath. Vampires could go much longer than humans without food, water, or air.

He pulled Johnny - making sure to keep Johnny's head above the water - behind him as he swam to the river's edge. The river was no longer shallow, so he couldn't simply drag himself and Johnny out of the water. Al pulled himself up onto the grass first before pulling Johnny up.

"Johnny!" Mavis exclaimed.

She was flying towards him in her bat form as quickly as she could. Her kayak sat abandoned at the finish line. Lily had just finished the race herself when she used her wings to fly over to Johnny. She had Al's phone and earbuds in her hands because he didn't want them to get wet when he dived in after Johnny.

Johnny was unconscious, and they all saw that he wasn't breathing. Al pressed his ear against Johnny's mouth and confirmed for himself that Johnny was out. Mavis landed on Johnny's left - the opposite side from which Al was at - when Al was checking his pulse.

"I'm sorry, Johnny," Mavis said, grabbing his hand. "This is my fault. Please, don't die on me."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think!

I got a nice, long chapter for you guys. It seems like I upload once a week, and that's only because I love writing longer chapters. Please check on my profile regularly on updates for the next chapter.

The next chapter will be the end of Act I in the story. Also, did you guys see the released image for Hotel Transylvania 3?

Ciao.


	9. Revelations

**Revelations**

Johnny woke up to the sound of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."

 _There's a lady who sure / All the glitters is gold / And she's buying the stairway to heaven_

"Johnny doesn't listen to classic rock," Mavis insisted.

"He's got to start somewhere," said Al. "Why not now when he has no control? When he does control the music, I guarantee you that our ears will bleed."

Johnny's vision was foggy at first, but he saw Mavis and Al standing in front of the foot of his bed. Al had his phone in his hand, and that was where the music was coming from.

They were in the Hotel infirmary. People and monsters rarely ever got injured at the Hotel, so it was usually empty. The dodgeball trial of the Monster Marathon did force some monsters to check in with the ghoulish doctor, but they had all already been patched-up and sent on their way.

There were only two beds in the room - each one on opposite sides of the room to each other - and Johnny was the only one occupying a bed. To his right was Dennis, who was sitting on a chair, laying his head down on Johnny's bed and napping. Mavis and Al were arguing with each other in front of the bed. The doctor was to his left, and he was checking with the equipment Johnny was hooked onto.

Standing around the infirmary - talking with each other - were Dracula, Frankenstein, Wayne, Wanda, Eunice, Griffin, and Blobby. None of them had noticed that Johnny was awake until the doctor revealed it to everyone.

"The patient has regained consciousness," the doctor announced. "Yay..."

Al and Mavis stopped tugging at Al's phone and looked at Johnny. Mavis grinned as she approached her husband, standing over him and Dennis. She leaned in to kiss his cheek, and nudged her son to wake up.

Dennis yawned as he sat upright in his chair, but he seemed very enthusiastic when he saw his father smiling at him.

"Daddy's alright!" Dennis announced.

"Yes, he is," Mavis confirmed.

The doctor moved out of the way to make space for Drac. Drac darted to Johnny's left in the blink of an eye and looked incredibly relieved.

"Can you speak?" Drac asked.

"I don't know," answered Johnny.

"Good," nodded Drac. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I remember a monster dragging me down into the river and a gorilla riding a unicorn with two machine guns," recalled Johnny. "I feel like one of those things happened in a dream."

"The gorilla shot you in the head, and now you have amnesia," said Al.

"Is there a scar?" Johnny asked. "Does it look bad? Also, what's amnesia?"

"Fascinating," Al muttered. Johnny's naïveté and cluelessness was something that was getting Al more and more interested in him.

"Relax, Johnny," Drac said. "You don't have amnesia, and you didn't get shot in the head."

"So, what about the unicorn?" asked Johnny, more confused than ever.

"There was no unicorn," Mavis revealed. "You got attacked by a Hunter."

Johnny tried his best to piece together exactly what happened prior to him losing consciousness. He recalled being hit in the face by Mavis's paddle, and he remembered seeing a monster underwater. The last thing he saw was Al coming into vision, and then he blacked out. Johnny explained the events to his friends and family, and they nodded to confirm what he was saying really did happen.

"Listen," Drac announced - not to Johnny, but rather to his friends. "We still need to get Johnny up to date on the details. It's going to be long, and you guys have better things to do."

They could tell that Drac wasn't really making a suggestion. Frank, Eunice, Wayne, Wanda, and Griffin all silently left the infirmary. Al started to follow them, but Drac put a hand on his shoulder, motioning him to stay.

"I think you should get going, too," Mavis told Dennis, rubbing his head.

"Shouldn't I wait until Daddy gets better?" Dennis asked.

"Daddy's fine, Dennis," insisted Mavis. "I just want to talk about grown-up stuff with Papa Drac, Daddy, and Al."

"She's right, Denisovich," added Drac. "Go on. We won't be long."

Mavis kissed Dennis on the nose, and he hopped off of his chair. Dennis was the last one out of the room, and he hopped up to close the door behind him.

"So, now that that's over with... What happened when I was out?" Johnny asked.

"For starters," Al stated, "we got the bastard who did this to you."

* * *

 **Earlier that night...**

"He's alive," Al told Mavis as he took his fingers away from Johnny's neck after checking his pulse. "He needs CPR. You're his wife so you do the honors."

Al stood up and faced away from the couple. Mavis was confused as to what Al was doing at first, but she didn't care. She immediately began to help Johnny breath again.

"Drac was teaching me how to use - as he puts it - super vision," Al revealed. "Time to test myself."

Unlike seasoned prime vampires, he had to focus in order to use his newfound abilities. He had them his entire life, but because he never knew he had them, he never tried to use them. He never even used them accidentally. After unlocking his powers, Drac offered to help him hone them. Mavis didn't like the idea at all, but Al accepted. Earlier that night, Drac was teaching Al how to activate his clairvoyance.

Al focused his eyes. He told his brain to see as far as he wanted to see. He tried his best to ignore every other sense except for sight. The focused state Al put himself in prevented him from noticing Lily - holding Al's cell phone and earbuds - landing next to Mavis and Johnny. The next thing Al knew, his sight was darting in front of him. It passed the remaining kayakers - paddling in the opposite direction to where he was looking - on the last stretch of the race and dived underwater.

He saw the reptilian assailant swimming quickly deep under the river about one hundred and fifty feet away. With his eyes still focused on the monster, Al transformed into a bat and flew over the river. It was incredibly fortunate that his flying speed was twice as fast as the monster's swimming speed.

When he saw that he was over the monster, he dived into the water and transformed back to normal. Johnny's attacker was very surprised to have Al grab him from his back with both arms. Al began to squeeze his arms together, strengthening his grip on the creature's neck. He hoped that he was hurting the monster, but it managed to shake Al off.

Al followed it as it darted upwards like a missile. It shot out of the water - going ten feet in the air - and landed on its feet on the grassy ground beside the river.

"Just like a dolphin," said Al.

It turned around to find Al standing ten feet away from him besides the river - soaking wet - in a battle stance. The reptile bared its sharp teeth and readied its sharp fingernails.

"Fish out of water wants to finally tango with me?" Al asked.

The enemy lunged at Al with one hand held out in front of it. Al held out his own hand and focused on freezing the creature. Al refrained from using the ability earlier because he wasn't sure if he'd have been able to pull it off. It was hard enough to do focus enough to do it on dry land, so he reckoned it would've been impossible to do it underwater.

Fortunately, Al and his enemy were on dry land. To his surprise, Al froze the monster.

"Y'know," Al started, "I'd normally make a frozen pun, but I think I'll just... Let it go."

There was no noise but the running river water and a cricket.

"I don't know why I expected a laugh track," muttered Al.

He transformed into a bat, flew over the frozen monster, picked it up, and flew back towards Mavis and Johnny. When he got there, he saw that all of the monsters had reached the finish line. Drac had joined Mavis by Johnny's side, but there was a line of armored knights circling around the group. Lily was seemingly expelled from the group and forced to stand among the spectators and competitors.

Al hovered over the open area the guards dedicated for Johnny and slowly let the monster down onto the grass. Drac dashed away from Johnny and Mavis and stood in front of the reptilian monster.

"Are you sure this is it?" Drac asked Al.

"He tried to drown Johnny and cut me up pretty good," Al informed. "I'm pretty damn sure this is the one."

"Alucard, I'm asking you one more time: Are you positive this is Johnny's attacker?"

"Cross my heart," Al promised. "Why is this so hard for you to believe?"

"Because, I know him," revealed Drac. "He's a member of the Gill family, and he was reported missing a month ago."

* * *

They locked the monster in the dungeon of the Hotel. It was quite modest - having only six cells - but it served its purpose well. The only other prisoners in the dungeon were Quasimodo Wilson and Bela, and the latter of which was still in the shrunken state Vlad left him in a year prior.

For a dungeon, it was quite luxurious. They had excellent lighting, air conditioning for the summer, heaters for the winter, twin-sized beds inside the cells along with carpets, televisions attached to the ceiling, toilets, and sinks. Only Quasimodo would be able to enjoy those luxuries, however. The bars were too wide to keep Bela contained. It would've been easy to just make him big again, but there was no entertainment value in that.

To remedy Bela's situation, they had him placed in a hamster cage which was set on the bed in the cell across from Quasimodo.

Four guards stood watch in the dungeon; two were by the door where people would enter and exit from. Three adjacent cells faced each other on opposite sides of the room, and the remaining two guards stood vigilantly next to the end of each of the cells.

Usually, the four guards and the prisoners were the only people in the dungeon. However, the case of Johnny's attacker brought Dracula, Alucard, and a second reptilian monster to the dungeon. Mavis was too busy tending to Johnny in the infirmary where he has yet to regain consciousness.

The individual Drac brought with him was another of the attacker's kind, although this particular one was female and her skin was red. She looked into the cell, staring at the monster's eyes. He stared back with red eyes of malice and contempt.

"He looks like my husband," she said. "Except his skin and eyes. They... They don't belong to him."

"I wouldn't have been able to tell him apart from any other monster of your kind," admitted Al. "Holy crap, that came out _super_ racist, didn't it?" No one seemingly paid him attention.

"You said he tried to drown Mavis's husband and that he cut you up?" she asked, looking at Al's bandages. He had bandages under his zipper jacket wrapped over his arm and torso.

"Unfortunately, yes," Drac revealed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Gill. I know how hard this must be to process."

Mrs. Gill stepped closer to the cell bars and wrapped her fingers around one of the bars. She said, "Honey? You've been gone for a long time. Do you recognize me?"

Mr. Gill didn't even bother to blink. It was as if he didn't even hear her speak to him, although that was most unlikely.

"Remember our three beautiful children?" Mrs. Gill asked. "They miss you terribly. Don't you miss them?"

Mr. Gill gave her the same non-reaction. She understood pattern recognition well enough to know that her attempts to reach her husband were futile. She stepped back from the cell and faced Drac.

"I don't know what's worse: this or him being missing," she confided. "Please, Dracula, help him."

Drac took her hands in his, and swore, "On my word as a Dracula, I will bring your husband back to you."

"And I'll make sure to find whoever did this and kick their teeth in," promised Al.

A guard escorted Mrs. Gill out of the dungeon. Throughout it all, she managed to keep her head held high and never entertained the idea of shedding a tear.

"Monsieur Dracula!" called Quasimodo.

Drac instantly became annoyed, and Al noticed this when Drac slouched over.

"Who the hell is that?" Al asked, approaching the cell from where he heard the voice.

"An old stake in the heart," Drac explained as he followed Al over to Quasimodo's cell.

"Are you finally here to let me go?" Quasimodo asked with his thick French accent.

"No, but ask me again in a decade," said Drac.

"I cannot help but ask about the events that resulted in you gracing me with your presence in the dungeon," Quasimodo said.

"You have a TV," reminded Drac. "Don't you check the Monster News Channel?"

"We have one of those?" Al asked.

"I would if I could," revealed Quasimodo. "All I get on my television are reruns of Wizards of Waverly Place."

"Drac, don't you think it's unethical to torture your prisoners? This is a Hotel, not Guantanamo Bay," joked Al.

"Hey, it's Mavis's favorite show," Drac defended.

"It could be worse, I guess," Al continued. "He could be forced to watch a marathon of Adam Sandler movies."

"Anyways, we shouldn't waste anymore time here," said Drac, clearly offended.

Despite Quasimodo's complaints, they migrated from his cell back over to Mr. Gill's. Expectedly, he didn't look like he moved a muscle. It was a creepy habit, but it made containing him so much easier.

"The Hunters," Al declared. "They kidnap monsters and indoctrinate them."

"We don't know if the second part is true," Drac reminded.

"Don't we? It would explain where they get their muscle from. The logic is there, but not the reasoning. I doubt Mr. Gill here is going to tell us anything."

Drac used his telekinetic powers to pull Mr. Gill closer to them until he was pressed against the bars. The Count then pulled his cloak over his face and forearm, revealing only his eyes and the upper parts of his head. It was a classic image: Drac planned on hypnotizing Mr. Gill.

Al was incredibly excited by what he was seeing - not for the potential of Mr. Gill spilling his beans. There were so many amazing powers Al had yet to learn, and he couldn't wait to finally unlock them. His job as a vigilante would get so much easier.

"You will tell me everything you know about the Hunters," demanded Drac as his eyes glowed red staring at Mr. Gill's own red eyes.

They weren't expecting that hypnotizing would be successful, but they were somewhat wrong. Mr. Gill was noticeably resisting Drac's will. The monster cringed and clenched his sharp teeth together, trying his best to look away from Drac. The compulsion to give in was quite strong.

Drac knew something was off. Resisting hypnotic control never happens. Hypnosis is always black-and-white in that the individual is hypnotized immediately or they weren't hypnotized at all. Mr. Gill walked the line in-between those two absolutes. Drac realized the problem: Mr. Gill couldn't tell him anything because he didn't know anything. If he did know something, that part of his memory must've been locked away somehow.

Drac decided to approach things differently.

"What is your mission?" he asked.

* * *

 **Later...**

"And he gave us a word," Al told Johnny. "The only thing Mr. Gill has said ever since his capture."

"Well, what'd he say?" Johnny asked, looking up at Al and Drac from his infirmary bed.

"He said 'blood'," answered Drac.

"Well, that's appropriately sinister," muttered Johnny. "I'm going on a limb and saying that none of us knows what Mr. Gill meant by that."

"Right you are," Al answered. "You almost drowned to death, and I got my favorite clothes ripped, but we got a lizard to say a vampire's drink of choice. Sounds like progress in American politics."

"We, at least, theorized that the Hunters are indoctrinating the monsters they kidnap," Mavis added.

"Yes and no," said Drac. "We have _implication_ that they indoctrinated _one_ monster they have kidnapped."

"Either way, I wouldn't like anymore examples of this," said Al. "Not that I get a say in the matter. They attacked us once - "

"Twice," Mavis corrected. She was obviously referring to the incident with the green-eyed Hunter.

"Twice," continued Al. "They're going to do it again. If they were smart, they'd send in more guys, and that'll just make life so much harder. Johnny, you barely survived one Hunter, so what if - "

"This isn't going to happen again," insisted Mavis. "Dad'll beef up the security and the watch."

"He already did, and a Hunter still got through," Al reminded. "I'm sure the security here has done enough to well-deserve your trust, but not mine. I'm looking at the worst case scenario here. Johnny is human, Mavis. That means he's not immortal. We need to make sure he'll be okay should the worst occur."

"We?" Mavis scoffed. "There is no _we_ , but even if there is, what do you propose we do? Make Johnny immortal?"

"Something along those lines," confirmed Al.

"You know it's a myth that vampires can turn others into vampires," Drac added.

"I'm not talking about conversion," clarified Al. "Ever heard of the Philosopher's Stone?"

"It's called the Sorcerer's Stone in America," said Johnny.

"Well, we can start with the things we learned from Harry Potter," Al said. "What do you know about it?"

"That they changed the name from Philosopher's Stone to Sorcerer's Stone because American kids wouldn't read something with Philosopher in the title since they'd think it would be boring," answered Johnny.

"It's a red stone," Mavis corrected. "Alchemists have tried to create it in the past, but all have failed. It's supposed to grant immortality."

"Exactly," said Al, smiling. "I have reason to believe that someone actually did manage to create the Stone. There's the solution to Johnny's mortality. We just need to find the Stone, give it to Johnny, and you'll live happily ever after."

"I'd like nothing more than that," revealed Mavis, "but, that's easier said than done. For one, we have no idea if the Stone even exists. Two, if it does exist, we have no idea where to start looking. Three, we can't drop everything to go on an Easter egg hunt with everything that's happened recently. Four, I don't trust you."

"The Stone is real," Al adamantly stated. "My friend - Dr. Jackal - dedicated many years to search for this stone because he wanted to use it to advance his medicinal practices, and he narrowed it down to Paris.

"That's a pretty big search area," Drac reminded.

"It's better than nothing," continued Al. "Jackal dropped it all because he didn't have the means to actually find it. We're vampires. If we go to Paris, Johnny'll be an immortal by next week."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Johnny asked.

"Of course you do," said Mavis.

"As if it's a hard decision between living forever or withering away in a few decades," muttered Al.

"Listen," Johnny started, "Al, I believe that _you_ believe that the Philosopher's Stone exists. Right now, I don't think it's worth it to go out there and look. You saw what the Hunters could do to us within the Hotel's boundaries. Imagine what they'll do to us out there. Besides, I'd like nothing more than to be with Mavey and Dennis forever. But, I don't want to forget who I am, though. Here, my mortality makes me special. Maybe in the future - if there's no other way - then we'll make me immortal."

"But, not today?" Mavis asked.

Johnny shook his head. She then leaned in to hug her husband. His mortality made him incredibly precious to her. She wouldn't have loved him as much as she did without it. Sure, he would eventually die, but Mavis didn't see it as Johnny leaving her. She saw it as motivation to enjoy her life with him to the fullest.

"I respect your decision," Drac said to his son-in-law.

Al gritted his teeth and said, "I'm just trying to help. Just remember what I told you."

"Glad to see I have options at least," Johnny said. "Onto less depressing news, how's the Monster Marathon?"

"That's still - unfortunately - a depressing topic," revealed Al as he crossed his arms. "Tell him, Drac."

"Well," started Drac, "I'm just going to be straightforward with you. You're out of the competition."

"What?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, the other competitors wouldn't allow exceptions for victims of near-death," Drac explained. "Even though you and Mavey were partners, you never technically made it past the finish point."

"So, I'm out," Johnny disappointingly simplified.

"It's not like you had any chance at winning, anyway," stated Drac.

"Dad!" Mavis called.

"He's not wrong," Johnny and Al said at the same time.

Al then said, "If it makes you feel any better, I got eliminated too. I couldn't finish the race because I had to save your ass and capture good old Mr. Gill."

"So, who's left?" asked Johnny.

"Me," Mavis answered, "Uncle Griffin, Uncle Wayne, Blobby, Al's girlfriend, and five others."

"She's not my girlfriend yet," Al corrected.

"Implying you're working on it," added Mavis.

"Hold on just a minute," requested Johnny. "The guests are still fine with the competition going on even after the Hunters attacked?"

"We've convinced them that this attack was not necessarily proven to be linked with the Hunters," revealed Drac. "That's not technically incorrect, either. I'm sure some of them have their suspicions, though."

"Alright, no more talk about the Hunters," ordered Mavis.

"We shouldn't trivialize them," said Al.

"No, but I'd like to get to bed on a happier note," she said. "Johnny, you should be well enough to get out of the infirmary. It's almost morning, and we should get some sleep."

"I'll make sure to bring Denisovich to your room," Drac offered.

"Thanks, Dad," Mavis gratefully accepted.

"Sleep doesn't sound that bad, actually," Al agreed.

* * *

When Al got off of his elevator to his floor on the suite level, he saw Lily leaning against his door. Al made sure his hair was not sticking up as badly as it normally did, but he remembered that he got wet not too long ago, and his hair took its natural, uninteresting form.

"Lily," Al announced as he approached his door away from the elevator. "I didn't know your room was on this floor."

"It's not, actually," she revealed. "I wanted to see you."

"Not that I'm objecting to it," Al said, "but the sun is almost up. Shouldn't you wait until night comes again?"

"I'm not a vampire, so the sun doesn't bother me. Anyway, I couldn't wait any longer to tell you."

Al grabbed his key from his pocket as he reached Lily and his door.

"I'm sorry you were eliminated," she said.

"Don't apologize; it's not your fault," Al said. He unlocked his hotel room door and pocketed the key. "Please don't take me for a creep when I ask you if you want to come in."

"Gladly," Lily said.

Al stepped aside to let Lily into his room. She observed the room in amazement because her room looked nothing like it. It was four times the size of a regular hotel bedroom, and it was all one open area - unlike Mavis's room - save for the door to the bathroom. In the center was a large king-sized bed. Two balconies were attached with double-glass doors leading to them, and relative to the bed, there was one on each side.

Bookshelves were set up to the right side of the room with a dining table that could seat four. To the left of the room were drawers and wardrobes with a music player on top of one of the drawers. The door to the bathroom was next to the wardrobes.

"Woah," Lily said.

"And it's free," Al added. "Have a seat."

Lily went deeper into the room as Al closed his door.

"No thanks," humbly said Lily. "I just wanted to say..."

"Say what?" Al asked as he removed his zipper jacket and threw it on his bed.

"I've never done this before," Lily revealed. "It's harder to do than I thought. I just really needed to tell you, that I..."

"Don't make me play the guessing game," Al joked. "You can chill, Lily. You can tell me anything."

"I... I... Gosh, how do I do this? Uh, can you please put on some music, Al?"

"If that'll help." He was incredibly unsure of what Lily was planning on telling him. He really hoped that it was what he wanted ever since he laid eyes on her, but he couldn't show his excitement to the idea or else he would've looked like a creep.

"Any particular song you'd like to listen to?" Al asked. He plugged his phone into the music player.

"Yes," said Lily. "Careless Whisper by George Michael."

Al chuckled as he scrolled through his playlist and selected the song. "An unconventional choice given our relationship, don't you think? Why'd you pick - Oh. Ooooohhhhhhh... I get it."

Al turned and Lily lunged towards him. They kissed immediately and passionately, holding each other with the intent of never letting go.

* * *

After waking up when the sun went down, Mavis walked Dennis down the stairs into the lobby of the Hotel. Johnny took Tinkles out to walk around the Hotel courtyard; it was too dangerous to walk through the forest anymore.

Despite the exorbitant amount of guests checked in, the crowd of the lobby seemed normal.

It was the weekend, so Dennis didn't have to sleep through a good portion of the night to get to his human classes. He was free to do whatever reasonably fun activity he wanted.

They saw Al bouncing his head up and down to his music as he walked across the lobby in front of them. He swiftly spun and slipped past monsters in his way, making sure to apologize to every single one of them in case he was being a nuisance.

"Al!" Dennis exclaimed.

Al pulled out one earbud and made his way towards Mavis and Dennis at the foot of the stairs. Mavis noted the unnaturally large grin on his face.

"Mavis, Dennis," Al greeted. "Hope you're having a fantastic night. Can I do anything for you?"

"Okay, what's up with you?" Mavis asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"Whatever do you mean?" Al asked, shining his teeth.

"What happened to your usual arrogant and brooding self?" she clarified.

"I'm not that brooding, am I?"

"Are you drunk?" she asked, stepping back.

"Mavis, you and I both know that we vampires have evolved so that we can't get drunk no matter how hard we try. Believe me, I tried." Al then bent down and covered Dennis' ears, saying, "Evolution is a bitch."

"Regardless, what happened to you?"

"Can't a guy just be in a good mood? There's a beautiful moon, nice breeze, amazing breakfast, and the best company in the whole wide world at the finest vacation spot ever. Oh, and good luck on the trial later tonight. I hope you win."

Mavis has seen behavior such as that many times before because Johnny would be just as excited whenever Mavis did favors for him. She instantly realized that Lily was the cause of it. Otherwise, Al never would've talked to her like he did.

"Did you officially start dating your succubus friend?" Mavis asked.

"You're in the ballpark," answered Al. "Anyway, enough about me. Are you ready to continue your training, Dennis?"

"Yeah," Dennis enthusiastically stated, jumping around Al.

Mavis recalled giving Al permission to teach her son, but she obviously had more to say to Al. She told Dennis to run off and find Winnie to play with while she had a short talk with Al. Her son agreed, and when they were sure Dennis wouldn't eavesdrop, Al said, "I remember - garlic down the throat. You don't need to tell me twice."

"I didn't want to threaten you," Mavis assured. She took a deep breath, struggling to find the words to express her feelings. "I'm not saying I'd like to invite you into my home anytime soon, but I guess I'll try to hate your guts a lot less."

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"I'm just doing what's right by you and Johnny. I never thanked you for saving his life, so - I guess - thanks for saving Johnny. I don't know what I would've done without him."

"Mavis, don't make me cry." Even in a good mood, he snuck sarcasm into his words.

"Don't get used to this," Mavis warned. "Go on, now. Teach my son to be a superhero. But, if you make me regret this..."

Both Al and Mavis finished the sentence together by saying, "Garlic down the throat."

* * *

It was hard for Mavis to be the outlier. Everyone was getting so close to Al, and she couldn't bring herself to entertain the idea of befriending him herself. She thought being nicer to him was a good step and good enough for her at the moment.

She sat on the roof of the Hotel as she always did when she wanted to relax and have some time to herself. However, she wasn't using the roof like she normally did. Using her clairvoyance, Mavis looked down at the Hotel's courts. There, she saw Denis mimicking the poses and moves Al was demonstrating. He was teaching kicks, blocks, and punches. She couldn't help but smile at her son when he imitated the moves.

Her relaxation was hindered by the echoing voices she heard from nearby. Intrigued, Mavis investigated the source of the sounds. It turned out that there was a whole in the roof not too far from her location, and she remembered how it came to be there. When she took Johnny to the roof all of those years ago, he fell through; thus creating the hole.

"I thought Dad got that fixed," she sighed.

The hole never bothered her before because of how small it was and how infrequently the sauna it led to was used. Drac and his friends rarely ever used his private sauna because they decided overuse would make the experience weak. They only ever went on special occasions.

The echoes of her father and uncles kept coming through, and she decided to just find another place to spend her time. She prepared to transform into a bat and fly off of the roof, but she stopped when she heard the name "Alucard."

The words Drac said to Mavis regarding Alucard's secrets replayed in her mind. She couldn't shake the feeling that something she might want to know would be mentioned. Eavesdropping was never something she condoned, but she was incredibly desperate for answers.

She transformed into a bat and flew off of the roof.

It didn't take very long for her to reach the door to Drac's private sauna. It was located on the same floor as his bedroom, after all. She knew the entire Hotel like the back of her hand.

Before the talking head attached to the door handle could talk and blow her cover, Mavis gagged it with a rag she recently started to carry around. It proved to be incredibly handy.

Mavis pressed her ear against the door to listen to the voices inside. They were much clearer than they were from the roof.

Inside, Drac, Frank, Wayne, Griffin, and Blobby sat around wearing nothing but their towels - save for Blobby who was always naked. Their conversation was too serious for them to enjoy the heat.

"I'm surprised," Drac admitted. "I really thought the boy was going to make it to the last trial."

"Stop trying to change the subject, Drac," Frank ordered.

"Who's trying to change what subject?" Drac asked.

"Cut the beetle dung, Drac," requested Wayne.

Blobby jiggled.

"You may fool them, but you can't fool us," Griffin insisted.

"I don't like where this is going," said Drac.

"Neither do we," agreed Frank, "but this isn't something we can ignore."

"I'm not trying to ignore it," defended Drac. "I'm just waiting for more confirmation."

"Like a blood test?" Wayne asked. "Drac, we don't need a blood test. We were there one-hundred-and-twenty-plus years ago when it happened. Remember how guilty you were about it?"

"Does the kid even know?" Griffin asked. "At least, does he suspect anything?"

"He doesn't," Drac answered. "No one but us and his mother know."

"So, you admit to it then?" Wayne asked.

"No - I mean, maybe. We don't know - Damn." Drac was too conflicted to give a clear answer.

"You didn't do anything wrong by anyone," Frank assured. "We certainly don't hold it against you. The only thing we _can_ hold against you is the fact that you're not handling it correctly."

"What would Mavis say if it's true?" Drac asked. "You know how important Martha's memory is to her, and to me for that matter."

"She'll understand," Griffin promised. "If she doesn't initially, we'll warm her into it."

"It doesn't help that they hate each other, huh?" Wayne added.

"That is pure irony, right there," Frank joked.

"You're not making me anymore motivated to accept it, guys," Drac pointed out.

"Sorry," they apologized.

Blobby jiggled.

"Wait, so Lucine has been lying to him all of his life?" Wayne asked.

"Yeah, but he'll figure that part out himself eventually," Griffin predicted. "At least one of his parents is a prime vampire, and Lucine sure wasn't a prime vampire."

"Drac, the first step towards rehabilitation is admitting you have a problem," Frank lectured.

"Isn't that for curing drug addiction?" Wayne asked.

"Whatever it's for, it's good advice," said Frank. "The evidence is all there, Drac. We all were there when it happened over one-hundred years ago. You know it in your heart to be true. You need to admit it to yourself."

"Fine," Drac said. "Alucard Lucine is my son."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

 **End of Act I: In Sheep's Clothing**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think!

Everything in this story so far has been leading up to the reveal at the end. Thoughts? Did you see it coming? Were you surprised?

Ciao.


	10. A One-Sided Zing

**Act II: Bastard Blood**

 **A One-Sided Zing**

"Mavey, it's past your bedtime," Drac pointed out. "I already tucked you in, so don't make me do it again."

"I don't want to sleep," replied Mavis.

The little, five-year-old Mavis had just flown in and onto the Hotel lobby desk. She then hopped off of it, landing behind the desk next to Drac. She was short enough so that her head didn't peer over it.

Luckily for Drac, the lobby was relatively empty - because it was almost morning and most monsters were nocturnal - so Drac was able to focus his full attention on his young daughter. It was also incredibly rare for monsters to check in or out when the sun was up, so Drac knew for a fact that he wouldn't be busy.

"Mavey, a good vampire always needs sleep," Drac reminded. "Remember why?"

"To be strong against humans," Mavis answered.

"Excellent, blood-raisin," said Drac as he patted his daughter's head. He then picked her up and held her with one arm. "I'm going to take you back to bed, and you better stay there this time. The sun is almost out, and I wouldn't want you to get burned."

"I don't need you to take me upstairs," Mavis insisted. "I'm a big vampire now. Look at my fangs." She bared her teeth at her father while trying to look as menacing as she could.

"If I let you go alone, do you promise you'll get to bed and stay there?" Drac asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mavis nodded furiously with a confidant smirk.

"Okay, sweetheart," obliged Drac. "Sleep tight."

Mavis hugged her father, transformed into a bat, and flew off towards the stairs of the Hotel lobby. The Count smiled with pride and affection as he watched his daughter leave his sight. He wasn't too worried for her safety inside the Hotel because he knew that nothing would be able to get to her. He opened a safe haven for monsters everywhere. The Hotel had only been open for a year, and most monsters in the world have already visited it.

Because he was lost in thought, he was startled when a voice spoke to him nearby.

"You have an adorable daughter," the voice said. Drac recognized it to be a female with a British accent. Most guests did not possess a British accent, so it easily caught Drac's interest.

Standing at the front desk was a female vampire in a black dress with sleeves that went down to her forearm. She had shoulder-length, curly black hair and striking green eyes. Furthermore, she was especially beautiful. Drac almost felt guilty when he thought that to himself. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn he saw a pink flash in her eyes.

"Hello," he greeted. "Welcome to Hotel Transylvania. You must be a new visitor."

"How'd you know?" she asked.

"I know all of the monsters that come here, but I don't know you. It's always nice to learn about another vampire." Drac held out his hand over the desk, and she took it and shook it.

"I am Dracula. Count Dracula."

She smiled, showing her fangs, and said, "My name's Lucine."

"Well, Lucine, what brings you over to my Hotel?"

"I suppose for the same reason any monster comes here. I thought I could make my life work in London, but the humans aren't very progressive."

"You wish for progress? After centuries of conflict?"

"Of course. I'd love to be able to live my life not looking over my shoulder every few seconds. Unfortunately, my dreams and wishes have done little to change the status quo, so here I am."

"That's very admirable of you," he complimented. "I'm afraid we'll have to wait a long while before they stop hating us if they don't stop hating us at all."

"Well, this drab talk seems hardly appropriate as of now, wouldn't you think? I apologize that I'm checking in so early in the morning. I was walking on my way here to take in the atmosphere, and I didn't start flying until I saw that the sky was getting brighter."

"No problem," Drac assured. "It's my duty - after all - to take care of my fellow monsters. Do you have a preference on which room you'd like?"

"I didn't realize that there was variety. Anything with a bed and bath will suit me just fine."

Drac turned to look at the wall of hanging keys he had behind the desk. He stood on his toes and grabbed a key very swiftly. Already, he knew which room the key unlocked. He had memorized all the key and door pairings after his first few months running the Hotel.

"I'll do you one better and escort you," Drac said.

"You don't have to," said Lucine. "I'm sure you're a very busy man, and I wouldn't want to - "

"Nonsense," he said, holding out his hand. "I was on my way up anyways."

* * *

"It sucks that we can't stay year-round," complained Frank.

Just like most nights of the Hotel, the large dining hall had about one-hundred round tables and was full of guests eating breakfast on them. Like always, Frank was sitting with his close friends: Wayne, Griffin, and Murray. On the table were plates of cow-snot-jelly, moose-nose salad, and bowls of fish-guts-soup. If there was one good thing about the Hotel, it was that they always had a variety of amazing dishes.

"Just enjoy the time we have here now," Murray suggested as he took a sip of his soup.

"Please, Drac doesn't want to hang with us all year," Wayne revealed. "At least, he doesn't want to hang with _Griffin_ all year."

"Hey!" Griffin exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

As Wayne and Griffin were going back and forth, Murray took it upon himself to continue the conversation with Frank. He knew how thick-headed his friends were, and he didn't expect the argument to die down anytime soon.

"So, where's Eunice?" Murray asked.

"She's at a private sauna session," answered Frank.

"I thought you couldn't _have_ a private session," said Murray.

"You can't, but who would want to be at the sauna with my wife?"

"You make a decent argument," admitted Murray. "Anyway, where's the man of the castle?"

"Drac? He and Mavis just entered the room."

Frank pointed his large, meaty finger over at the entrance where they found the Count and his young daughter walking hand-in-hand into the dining hall. Zombies closed the large, double-doors behind them.

"Sleep well, pumpkin-spider?" Drac asked.

"Yeah," Mavis answered. "I'm really hungry."

"Let's see what Quasimodo has for us tonight."

At the corner of his eye, Drac saw Lucine sitting alone at a table at the corner of the room. She seemed to be slowly sipping on the soup that was Quasimodo's special for the morning. Nothing about her appearance or expression seemed sad, but Drac couldn't help but think that her loneliness at her table made her feel that way.

"I need to talk to someone really quickly, honey," Drac told Mavis. "Can you find your way to your uncles?"

"Of course," Mavis said, furiously nodding.

She transformed and flew off, leaving Drac alone to walk towards Lucine. She didn't notice him coming until he stood over her table. Putting her chin on her palm and resting her elbow on the table, Lucine greeted the Hotel's owner with a smile.

"You didn't come all the way over here for _me_ , did you?" Lucine asked.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"It was the best rest I've had in years. Had I known how amazing this place was, I'd have gone when it first opened."

"Amazing? Did you find time to explore the Hotel?"

"No," she admitted. "My room and the owner were enough to make my opinion."

Drac was extremely flattered by her comments, but he couldn't help but feel guilty deep inside. There was no reason for him to be guilty at all. All he was doing was making conversation with a vampire staying at his Hotel. There was no unspoken rule which his actions were breaking.

She motioned for him to take a seat at the table, and against Drac's better judgment, he accepted. He tried to sit as respectfully as he could: his back was straightened, and his hands were folded over his lap. Her green eyes looked at him with fascination and reverence as if Drac was a majestic creature she was looking at for the first time. He wasn't really sure what was going on in her head, and he was even more unsure of whether or not he liked the attention.

He reckoned that it would be best to start some more dialogue between the two before things got awkward.

"Tell me about yourself, Lucine," he requested.

"There's not much to tell, really," she admitted. "I'm just your average vampire. I was born and raised in the outskirts of London by my mother and father. We stayed in the shadows, doing our best to not interfere with human affairs. I spent my days reading, chasing mice, and seeing the wonders of the city. My parents..."

Lucine became suddenly somber. Her eyes broke their fixation on Drac, and she was looking at the bowl of soup in front of her. He could easily tell that she was disturbed by what she was recalling. It was a feeling that he was all too familiar with. He knew exactly what happened to her parents.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," he assured. "Humans. I lost my wife to them."

"I'm sorry, Dracula," she said. "Loss is something we're all too familiar with."

"Continue on, please," he said.

"Of course. I lived alone for the next hundred or so years. I was lucky enough to make friends with other monsters living in hiding. Then, you opened the Hotel. I wasn't sure when I heard about it at first, but I eventually motivated myself to come. Here I am, and here you are."

Drac noticed an empty goblet on the table. Another goblet was filled with a blood-substitute, and it belonged to Lucine. Drac telekinetically grabbed a carton of the substitute on the table and poured it in his goblet. He raised his cup in front of Lucine, saying, "To surviving."

"To surviving," she cheered. She then hit her cup against Drac's, and they both took a sip.

"So, Dracula," said Lucine. "What do you want out of the Hotel?"

"Haven," Drac answered. "What else? Haven for all monsters."

"I imagine your daughter was your main motivation for building it," she assumed.

"You're right." Drac looked to his left to find Mavis at a far away table being the center of attention among his friends.

"You're a good father," Lucine said. "You seem very preoccupied with your daughter's happiness, however. Did you forget to fulfill your own?"

"As long as she's happy, so am I," Drac revealed.

Lucine giggled. She didn't realize it, but she put her hand over Drac's hand. It seemed like the natural reaction for her. When he made his toast with Lucine, he placed his hand flat on the table far in front of him without even noticing. When he finally did notice, he gave off a look of confusion.

Drac hadn't felt an attraction so strong since Martha. He hasn't been with a woman since his wife's passing, either. However, that was all to honor Martha's memory. With Lucine, however, he was scared that he was disrespecting his marriage in some way. He hasn't done anything that was considered taboo, but the fact that he enjoyed Lucine's company so much made him incredibly weary of what he could do.

Before he could take his hand away from hers, Griffin's voice asked, "Who's your friend, Drac?"

Drac got startled, and he pulled his hand away. "Griffin! What did I tell you about sneaking up on people?"

"Hey, I'm the Invisible Man; I can't help it. Besides, that's not what's important. What's important is that you introduce me to your lady friend here."

Drac groaned. "Lucine, meet Griffin. Griffin, meet Lucine."

Lucine looked at the floating spectacles beside her table, smiled, and extended her hand. Griffin shook it with pleasure.

"Drac's getting back in the game, huh?" Griffin said.

"That's not what this is," argued Drac. "We're just friends."

"Well, Drac, you got lucky to have a friend so pretty," Griffin said, taking Lucine's hand and kissing it.

"Do you flatter every woman you meet?" Lucine asked.

"Only the ones that are worth it," replied Griffin. "I winked. Did you catch my wink?"

"How can I help you, Griffin?" Drac asked, clearly annoyed.

"Well, Mavis wanted your permission to hit the pool with us," said Griffin.

"She has it," Drac said.

Griffin's glasses started to float away, so they knew he was leaving.

Drac leaned in closer to Lucine and said, "Listen, we got to go somewhere else right now."

"What for?" Lucine inquired.

"When Griffin gets back to his table, he's going to tell my friends that I'm talking with you, and they might take it the wrong way. No offense."

"None taken."

"Anyway, I'd rather not have my friends surround us and bombard us with questions about the nature of our relationship. You coming with me?"

"Just lead the way."

When Griffin got to his table, he put his invisible hands on Frank and Murray's shoulders. They were almost startled, but Griffin did it enough times so that they were rarely frightened by his random appearance. Of course, they were actually expecting him that time.

"Pool party is a go," revealed the Invisible Man. "The big man himself was chatting up a new vampire lady friend, too."

Mavis was too busy playing with the eyeball in her soup to notice what Griffin was saying.

"What do you mean chatting up?" Frank asked.

"Like... Intimately?" Murray asked.

"It was private; that's for sure," explained Griffin. "Look over there."

Murray, Frank, and Wayne were confused. They all turned their heads around in many directions to see what their friend was referring to. Griffin always forgot about his invisibility.

"Look where I'm pointing!" Griffin demanded. "Whatever. They're gone, anyways."

"What?!" Murray, Frank, and Wayne all exclaimed at the same time.

"You don't think he..." Wayne started.

"It's not like he's doing anything wrong if he is," Frank asserted. "Martha is near and dear to us all, but sometimes people just have to move on."

"Drac built this entire place in her memory," Wayne reminded. "Do you really think someone _that_ dedicated can simply move on?"

* * *

For the next few days, Lucine and Drac spent a great deal of time together. Drac made sure to keep her from the company of his friends and daughters, however. Little did he know that his friends already had their assumptions made. The last thing he wanted was to be called out for having a girlfriend. He didn't see Lucine as a romantic partner. He saw her as a good friend with a heart similar to his.

"I've never seen anything so amazing," Lucine said.

Lucine and Drac stood side-by-side on the roof of Hotel Transylvania. She stared in awe at the full moon that shined bright over them. She then looked down at the lake below to see the wonderful reflection of light. She looked out over the forest and felt it's tranquility.

"It's funny," Drac started. "I've only ever seen this place as a sanctuary to protect. But, standing here now, I feel... I don't know what I feel. At peace? Yes, that's the word. Peace."

"You should really stop thinking about things like fixing the Hotel's plumbing," Lucine lectured. "Take a moment for yourself. Let all of your worries go away. Even _you_ need a vacation sometimes."

Lucine sat down where she stood, never breaking her gaze from the scenery. She would have liked nothing more than to sit there for all eternity. Her content grew when she heard Drac sitting down beside her.

"Thank you, Dracula," she said. "For everything you've done for monsters. I've been here less than a week, and I already feel like I'm home."

"As you should," confirmed Drac. "It's your home as much as it is mine or my daughter's."

"You're a good man, Dracula," complimented Lucine. "Perhaps the kindest man I know. I can see why everyone loves you so much."

"Everyone?"

"Slip of the tongue," Lucine giggled.

She turned her attention away from the scenery to look at Drac. He - in turn - focused his sole attention on her. Under the moonlight, to Lucine, Dracula was the most handsome man alive. To Drac, Lucine was the most beautiful woman alive. They didn't notice when they leaned their heads in closer to each other.

They definitely noticed when they kissed.

* * *

When Lucine woke up from the pillows and blankets on the ground, she didn't find Drac next to her. She scanned Drac's chamber to find him standing up - fully clothed - in front of his large portrait of him and Martha hand-in-hand. He held a candle in one hand, and the only light in the room came from the candle.

Lucine quickly got dressed and approached Drac. However, she knew better than to stand next to him when he was looking at his deceased beloved. It was almost insulting to her memory. She reckoned it'd be best if she stood a few feet behind him.

"You don't have any regrets, do you?" Lucine asked. She realized it wasn't the most appropriate question to ask after intimacy, but she could feel how conflicted Drac was at the moment. She needed to straighten things out before things got muddier.

"If I do, it's not your fault," Drac explained. He sounded rather stoic, but Lucine could tell he was just covering up his true feelings. His true feelings were a lot more negative.

"I never meant to replace her," Lucine admitted.

"I know you didn't," said Drac. "No one can ever replace her."

Lucine noticed him run his forearm over his eyes. He was in tears, but he wouldn't show it. When his face was dry, Drac turned to face Lucine. He didn't - however - get closer to her. He didn't even provide eye contact to her.

She had no idea what was going through his mind. Was it guilt that filled him? Was it shame?

"This isn't fair for you," Drac said. "But, I need to make sure we both are at an understanding. I know I don't have the right to ask you, but do you love me?"

She stood and thought about it for half of a minute. She did love him. She didn't need time to answer that part. However, it was analyzing the results of both answers - yes or no - which she thought about. What was the best way to answer his question which would prevent any ill-will? Would he drive her away or closer if she said yes? If she said no, was everything she experienced in the past few days all for naught? In the end, she reckoned that it was best to be honest.

"I do," she answered.

"I'm... I'm so sorry," he apologized. He didn't look shocked. Rather, he was incredibly disappointed. "No matter how much I try to move on, my heart cannot leave Martha. Lucine, I don't - "

"I get it," Lucine interrupted. "You don't have to say anything. I'll... I'll give you some time to yourself."

"This doesn't mean we can't be friends," said Drac.

"Of course it doesn't," she said, feigning a smile.

Lucine walked to the door out of Drac's room as he watched. The look on his eyes could tell anyone about the despair he felt on the inside. When she opened the door, she saw Frankenstein's monster, Wayne the Werewolf, and Murray the Mummy standing outside of the room. They all gave looks of shock when they saw Lucine.

She acknowledged them all with a quick nod before walking down the Hotel hallway to search for the elevator.

"Drac?" Frank asked as he entered the chambers. He clearly wanted an explanation.

"Her name is Lucine," Drac informed. "No, there's nothing between us. Not anymore, at least. As your friend, I ask one thing of you: don't tell Mavis."

Little did they know that Lucine left the Hotel that night, and she wouldn't be seen since.

* * *

 **9 months later**

The house Lucine was given to live in New York in was quite modest. It had all the comforts anyone could've asked for at the time. She was laying in her bed with her back against the wall. In her arms was her newborn son. He was sleeping soundly, and she cherished every breath he took and immortalized them in memory.

"I promise you," she started, "that you'll never have to feel the same loneliness I did. I promise that you'll grow up to be a great man. I promise you that one day... One day, you'll learn the truth about him. I'm not ready for it, and neither is he."

The baby boy slowly opened his eyes revealing the same green eyes his mother possessed.

"I haven't named you yet," she said. "How about Dracula - after your father and so you achieve greatness? No, there can only be one Dracula, don't you think? Don't worry. I've got just the name. You're going to be a light in this world, son. You will be there when humans and monsters eventually learn to live together. You're going to be as great if not greater than your father. You're the hero of your own story, and mine. My sweet Alucard."

* * *

 **One-hundred-and-twenty-one years later**

Alucard was walking down a hall of the Hotel after a quick chat with Lily in her room. As always, he was listening to his tunes on his phone. The hallway he was walking through ended at an intersection with a perpendicular hallway. There, he turned right to walk straight to the elevator.

However, he saw Mavis storming down the hallway not too far in front of him after exiting the elevator herself. Only a blind person wouldn't notice the scowl she had on her face.

"Everything okay, Mavis?" Al asked. "You look a lot more pissed off at me than usual."

"I'm fine," she lied.

She - of course - had just finished eavesdropping on Drac's private conversation with his friends at his private sauna. The emotions that went through her ranged from upset to livid. There was little positive. Of course, she had no intention on telling Al what she heard. She reckoned that it was more appropriate for Drac to reveal the secrets.

"Its just... Things have changed," she said as she walked past her possible half-brother.

Her own room was further down the hallway, and when she reached it, Al had already left on the elevator.

Mavis knocked on the door to the room whilst impatiently tapping her foot. She had forgotten her key inside. It seemed like a century before Johnny opened the door.

"Hey, Mavey," he greeted. "Good to-"

Mavis transformed into a bat, flew over his shoulder, and transformed back inside the room. She then briskly walked to the living room couch where she sat down, straightened her back, and crossed her arms. She had every intention to tell Johnny. Her justification was that she needed some advice with what to do with the information, and the information wasn't going to necessarily challenge everything Johnny ever believed.

It was quite unfair that Johnny would know before Al, but Mavis reckoned that it would be for the best and there was little damage it could do.

"Is Dennis home?" she asked.

"He's out with the wolf-pups and Tinkles," Johnny answered.

Johnny closed the door and approached his wife.

She then asked rather bluntly, "What would you do if you knew your dad kept a secret from you for one-hundred-and-twenty years?"

"Uh... I can't say I'll ever have that experience," he said. "But, I guess I wouldn't be surprised. Everyone has secrets."

"What if he told his friends about his secret before he told you?"

"Mavis, where is this coming from?"

She sighed. "Johnny, don't let anyone know I'm telling you this. Hell, _I'm_ not even supposed to know. Not yet, anyway."

"I swear, I won't tell anyone."

"My mom wasn't the only woman my dad has ever been with," she revealed. "He had an encounter about one-hundred-and-twenty-two years ago with another vampire. Her name was Lucine."

Johnny groaned. He didn't think of it to be a big deal. It was Drac's business who he was becoming involved with decades ago. It wasn't like Lucine became Mavis's stepmother or anything of the sort.

"Mavis, it couldn't have been anything more than a fling," Johnny said. "He must've been lonely, and... Where have I heard that name before?"

"Lucine is Al's mother," she stated.

Mavis watched as the realization came over Johnny. His eyes widened, and his jaw practically dropped to the ground. It turns out that it was a much bigger deal than he thought.

"So you and him are... Would this classify as ironic?" Johnny asked. He was - of course - referring to the negative attitudes the two held towards each other.

"Textbook definition," she confirmed.

Johnny sat down to her left, and she immediately laid her head against his shoulder. He then used his right arm to stroke her hair. He hoped he was comforting her in one way or another.

"How could he do this?" she asked. "I thought his relationship with my mom was... I don't know. Sacred? At least, that's how we treated it."

"You're not mad at him, are you?"

"I know it's really selfish of me to be mad, but I am," she admitted. "I'm even more disappointed. Something this big isn't something you should keep a secret for more than one-hundred-and-twenty years! The fact that he might be a Hunter makes this all so much worse!"

"You're still on about that?" Johnny asked. "Mavis, Al is _cool_. I'd bet my life on it. If he _is_ your brother - "

"Half-brother," she corrected.

"He'll fit in just fine," Johnny asserted. "Want my advice? I don't think it's our place to tell him who he may or may not be. I say we keep trusting Drac on this. When Drac says the time is right, he'll tell Al. Until then, don't do anything irrational."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think.


	11. Reunion

Author's Note: I'm very sorry for the longer wait. This is probably the busiest month of my life so far, and I can't find much time to write. Expect more frequent uploads after November.

 **Reunion**

The sound of a tapping foot woke Johnny from his sleep. He yawned loudly and stretched as he sat up on his bed. He couldn't feel Mavis sleeping next to him, and when he turned to look, he couldn't find her there. Fortunately, she wasn't too far away from him.

She leaned against her forearm, standing next to the open windows of their bedroom. Unlike Johnny, she wasn't wearing her pajamas but rather the same outfit she always wore out of her bedroom. Her emotionless expression indicated that she was deep in thought. Of course, she had every right to be.

Outside, the sky was the dark blue color it was between night and day. The night had passed, and the sun would come up not too long after. The guests at the Hotel would be going to sleep if they haven't gone to bed already. Even the ones that could tolerate sunlight preferred the night, and they went to bed at the same time as their peers because of it.

Sleep was something Mavis couldn't allow herself to have, however. Although she tried her best to get some rest after the long day she had, intrusive thoughts kept filling her head. They kept her eyes open. Eventually, she realized that she wasn't going to get any sleep, so she had changed from her pajamas and stood vigilantly, staring out the window.

"Mavis," Johnny called. "Don't tell me you're still letting it eat you up."

"Until this gets dealt with, I'm not letting it leave my mind," she said. "How aren't you more concerned about this?"

"This isn't a bad thing," Johnny answered.

"It is to _me_ ," Mavis replied. "After all of his lies and secrets, I thought he'd come clean about everything. It makes me wonder about what else he's hiding."

Johnny sighed in disappointment. Every conversation he had with Mavis recently was just them going back and forth about their opinions. There was no progress at all. He didn't realize how irritating some conversations could become before he got married.

"You're not going to take my advice, are you?" he asked.

"I'm not going to pretend I don't know the truth," Mavis answered. "You said to wait until Dad thinks the time is right. Well, he waited one-hundred-and-twenty-two years already. Who's to say he won't wait another few. He won't believe I'm ready until I tell him. That's why..."

She paused mid-sentence and sighed. Mavis then left her post at the window and walked towards the exit of the room.

"Where are you going?" Johnny asked as he hopped out of bed and frantically started to get dressed.

"To do something irrational," she answered.

Johnny always wore the same set of clothes, so it didn't take long for him to pick what to wear. Furthermore, most of his clothes were collected in a pile next to his bed for convenience. No matter how many times Mavis asked him to clean it up, he would never get to it.

As she exited the bedroom, Johnny called after her, saying,"I'm coming with you."

He had to make sure to keep his wife's emotions in check. The last thing he wanted was for her to do something she would regret. She didn't answer Johnny, but that wasnt necessarily a rejection of his offer.

They made sure to sneak around the sleeping Tinkles who was making a puddle on the floor with his drool. They especially didn't want to wake up Dennis who was sleeping soundly in his room. He was too young to understand the drama of the situation. As a child, he would've received the news more positively than anybody else. They didn't need his jumpy personality and naive opinions to affect anything.

Johnny quietly closed the door to their room behind them as they exited. Mavis turned to the left end of the hallway where the elevator was located one-hundred feet away from them. Next to the elevator door was a suit of armor standing guard with a spear.

Besides the guard, there was no one else in the hallway. That was expected. They began their walk to the elevator but instinctively covered their ears to drown out the voices of the shrunken heads attached to the door handles of each and every hotel room door.

The guard saluted as Mavis and Johnny approached him.

"Mrs. Mavis and guest," the guard greeted.

"I'm her husband," Johnny reminded. Countless times has he told the same guard that information, and yet the guard always seems to forget.

"Where's my father?" Mavis asked.

Each and every suit of armor in the Hotel was magically linked to one another. They each could see what another was seeing. In a way, they were the Hotel's first surveillance service. Recent technology has allowed the Hotel to simply set up cameras, but they often still used the knights for quick surveillance.

"Your father is currently approaching the lobby and will be there soon," the guard revealed.

"Do you know why he isn't in his room?" she asked.

"Your father has company," the guard added. "With him is the guest from New York, Alucard Lucine."

"Okay, I've been here for years," Johnny complained. "Al's been here for less than a week, and you know his name."

"We're going to the lobby," Mavis announced as she called the elevator.

* * *

"Your telekinesis could use some work," said Drac to Al.

Drac patted Al's back as they walked through the practically empty Hotel lobby. The only other person in there with them was a zombie at the front desk.

They had just finished another training session for Al. He was taught a new prime vampire ability every lesson by Dracula, and he had basically mastered all the abilities except for telekinesis. He knew how to freeze people, hypnotize people, see things from very far away, and transform into a wisp, but he still had trouble lifting a brick with his mind.

"Yeah, well, I only learned how to use it an hour ago," Al reminded. "You've had centuries to master it, old man."

"Dennis mastered it the day he became a vampire," teased Drac.

"Well, he's Count Dracula's grandson after all," said Al. "Greatness is expected of him."

"Right..." muttered Drac.

Mavis and Johnny appeared at the top of the stairs to the right of the front desk. Judging by her scowl, they could tell that she wasn't in the best mood. Johnny's nervous look all but confirmed their suspicions that Mavis was angry.

"Mavey," Drac greeted. "The sun's almost out. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Dad, we need to have a talk," Mavis announced. She then glared at Al standing next to Drac. "Alone."

"A please would be nice," Al said as he left Drac's side. He walked up the stairs that Mavis and Johnny were walking down on. As he passed them, Al patted Johnny in the back. He refrained from giving Mavis a similar gesture because he was scared she'd explode and bring the whole building down on them.

When Al was gone, Mavis was at the bottom of the stairs. She motioned for the zombie at the front desk to leave, and he obliged. Slowly, the zombie limped up the stairs to the left of the desk. Mavis stared at her father with her arms on her hips the entire two minutes it took for the zombie to leave.

"Something the matter?" Drac asked. Despite Mavis's demeanor, he was being as genial as possible.

"I know you promised you'd tell me about him," Mavis started, "but I heard you talk to your friends at the sauna. I know."

For a short second, Drac was confused as to what Mavis was referring to. They talked about a lot of things at the sauna. He quickly recalled the conversation in his head and picked out the most critical point of the conversation.

Drac straightened his back and threw on his serious-face. He wasn't going to evade anything. He had done that so many times, and Mavis always learned the truth one way or another. There was no use in hiding from her scrutiny.

"What did you hear?" Drac asked.

"I heard that you and Lucine knew each other one-hundred-and-twenty-two years ago," she explained. "I know that _something_ happened between you two. I know that Al..."

She couldn't bring herself to say it in front of her father. Disbelief prevented her from doing so. She couldn't believe that Martha wasn't Drac's one and only. She couldn't believe that he fathered a bastard. She couldn't believe that that bastard was her own brother.

"You know that Al is your brother," Drac finished.

"Yes," Mavis confirmed. "That arrogant, intolerable, selfish, sack of garlic is my brother." She said it as she walked back and forth in a short line in front of Drac.

"Calm down, Mavis," Johnny said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"He's right, Mavis," said Drac. The Count was being incredibly calm. "Don't take your anger out on Al. It's not fair to him. It's me you're angry at."

"You're right, Dad," she said, glaring at her father. She wanted to explode into a rant, but she decided to give her father some credit. He did promise to tell her the secret not too long ago. She sighed and calmed herself. "I just need to know, Dad. I need to know what Mom really meant to you."

"She meant everything to me, Mavis," Drac answered. Drac's firmness in his statement proved his conviction. "But, she was gone. I had you, but I missed having someone at my side like Martha. I was starving for companionship like Martha. Lucine showed up in the right place at the right time. Even with everything I had, I was lonely. Surely you've felt the same."

Mavis remembered how terrible she felt when she thought Johnny left her forever after he revealed himself to be human. He was her Zing, and she needed her Zing to live her life happily.

"For a short while, Lucine filled the hole that Martha left behind," Drac continued. "The hole grew bigger, however. I couldn't be truly happy with Lucine, and we both understood that. No one could ever make me happy as much as Martha did. I broke Lucine's heart that night, and she left forever. My biggest regret is that we couldn't part on better terms."

"I didn't tell you about Lucine because you didn't need to hear about it. It was just another example of how much I loved your mother. I didn't know until I met Alucard that she had a child. Had I known she was pregnant... Things would've been different. But, what happened _happened_. Here I am: a man begging his daughter to understand."

Mavis looked at her feet for a second and then hugged her father. He was caught by surprise, so he didn't instinctively wrap his own arms around her. She then rested her head on her father's shoulder and began talking.

"I understand," she said. "You've caused yourself so much pain already. You don't need to do it anymore. I'm sure if Mom were alive, she'd understand too."

Johnny almost teared up. Everything was so heartwarming. He was incredibly glad that things turned out the way they did.

"Well, looks like we have to tell Dennis that Al's his uncle," Johnny announced.

"Really?!" asked the voice of Dennis. His tiny bat-head popped-up from behind Johnny's shoulder. Johnny was startled by it, and he jumped away from Dennis and hugged Mavis's waist.

Dennis laughed as he transformed back into his normal form. He then approached Mavis, Johnny, and Drac. Mavis knelt on the ground after Johnny let go of her, and she rubbed her son's head and hair.

"It's past your bedtime," she pointed out.

"I woke up a few minutes ago because Tinkles was being noisy," Dennis revealed. "I got him to go back to sleep, but I couldn't find you guys. I used my eye powers and saw you guys here, so I came down to see what you were doing. Then, I heard Daddy say that Al was my uncle!"

He began hopping around in excitement as if he was going to watch a new episode of Kakie the Cake Monster.

"Daddy," Dennis started, "I had no idea you had another brother!"

"Uh," Johnny said.

"Actually, Dennis, Al is _my_ brother," Mavis corrected. "Papa Drac is Al's father, you see, and - "

"Psssffffttttttttt," said Al's voice from nearby. It was the sound that preceded powerful laughter.

The powerful laughter came when Al walked down the stairs to the right of the front desk. Every step was slow because his laughter made it hard to keep his balance. When Al was near the foot of the stairs, he fell and rolled the rest of the way down. He couldn't stop laughing, however. He rolled back and forth on the ground until his laughing cooled down.

Even as he walked towards the group, he was still chuckling.

"You guys," said Al as he pointed to each and every person in Dracula's family, "are the funniest monsters and human on this planet. All joking aside though, it's really not nice to prank people like that."

"What did you hear?" Drac asked.

"All of it," Al revealed. "If you're going to have a conversation behind my back like this, you better make sure I'm actually _gone_."

Drac didn't intend for Al to learn the truth as he did. It was quite unfortunate that both of his children learned the truth by eavesdropping. If only their parents had raised them better.

"We're not joking," Mavis said. "At least, _I'm_ not."

"Well, the corpse is out of the coffin," muttered Dracula. "Listen, Al. Your mother - "

"Told me that my father was human," Al interrupted. "I've believed that my entire life. She told me that he died in Transylvania."

"She wanted to distance herself and you away from me," said Drac. "She didn't want me to live with the guilt I would feel for being unfaithful to my wife."

"Well, guess we'll never know the truth," said Al. "The only person who knows for _sure_ is my mother, and she's six feet under the ground."

"But, think about it for a second, Al," said Drac. "You're a prime vampire. One of your parents had to have been a prime vampire. Your mother wasn't. If your father was human, you wouldn't be a prime vampire. I'm a prime vampire, however. I'm your father, Alucard."

"I understand the math," Al said, passive-aggressively. Al turned around and put his hand on his hips. He looked down at the ground. Obviously, there was a lot going through his mind. His and everyone's mind for that matter.

"It's not that I don't want to be believe you," he continued. "This is just... Unbelievable. My mom made it sound like that I was conceived from a forbidden romance between a monster and a human. She made it sound like I was incredibly special. What am I now? A bastard? A mistake?"

"Trust me, Al, I'm going through the exact same thing you are," Mavis promised.

"I doubt it," he muttered. Al then turned around to face the family once again. "This is a lot to take in."

"I'm not anymore excited about it than you," Mavis said.

"Oh, I'm incredibly excited," Al sarcastically remarked. "I just overheard a conversation about how my mom had a one-night-stand with the Prince of Darkness, conceived me, and kept me away from Hotel Transylvania in order to save said prince from embarrassment. So, what now? Do you want me to cook at family outings? Help drive Dennis to school?"

"Believe it or not, I've never been put in this situation before," said Drac. "So... Welcome to the family?"

"Why didn't you come to me earlier, Drac?" Al asked.

"I had to make sure," he answered. "I didn't want to catch you off-guard with information that you might find false."

"True or false, you caught me off guard," said Al. "How're you taking this, Mavis? Bet you're having the best damn week of your life."

"Forgive me if I don't throw my arms around you," she said.

"Likewise," Al replied. "But, let's say that none of you are lying. If we're family, are you going to at least trust me a bit now, Big Sis?"

Mavis didn't appreciate Al's nickname for her. It was true that she was older than him by six years, but she felt that he was getting too personal too quickly. They only just became family recently. She needed a lot more time to get used to considering him as such.

"Don't call me that," she ordered.

"No problem," Al obliged. "I almost threw up in my mouth when I said it."

Al widened his eyes in surprise when Dennis as a bat pressed his forehead against Al's. Everyone else was shocked by the child's swiftness.

"Can I call you Uncle Al?" Dennis asked.

"You really don't have to," assured Al.

"Uncle Al it is," said Dennis as he transformed back.

"You are taking this extraordinarily well," observed Mavis, referring to Al. She was expecting him to either argue with them at the top of his lungs are brush everything off as a lie.

"Well, at least one of my children can do that," Drac joked. He immediately regretted his comment after Mavis stomped on his foot.

"My emotions are having a fist-fight, believe me," said Al. He then raised his eyebrow as if perplexed by something.

"Well, now's as good of a time as any to start over," Mavis announced. "Why don't we - "

Al told Mavis to shush. He said it rather loudly, too, and he put his index finger up in front of her. Mavis was incredibly appalled by the gall he had to be so rude to her. It seemed that being siblings gave Al even more reasons to be rude to her.

"Excuse me," lectured an offended Mavis. "But, that was rude and un-"

"Shut up, Mavis," Al ordered. Before she could speak in retaliation, he elaborated on his order. "Listen. Does anyone else hear that, or am I crazy?"

Mavis, Drac, and Dennis focused their hearing. They found an irregularity around them. They didn't just hear it, but they could feel it under their feet, and it felt like it was getting closer and closer. It was the unmistakable sound of hoof-steps. Large hoof-steps. Each step gave off vibrations which the vampires could feel from far away.

"I hear it," Mavis stated.

"Me too," added Drac.

"Oh, I've seen Jurassic Park. I think I know where this is going," muttered Al.

They all looked over to the direction of the source of the sound: outside of the Hotel lobby past the main door. Mavis used her clairvoyance to look ahead and past the rotating doors of the lobby entrance. What she saw surprised and unsettled her.

"Johnny, get Dennis back to the room," Mavis ordered. "Now!"

Before Johnny could ask why, the entrance to the lobby blew open. Glass, bricks, and other debris flew away from what once used to be walls and a door. The entrance to the Hotel was destroyed. All that was left was a large hole that was about fifteen feet high and fifteen feet wide. The sunlight shined onto the floor and crept into the lobby.

Standing atop of the debris was a minotaur. The minotaur wasn't like every other minotaur who frequented the Hotel, however. He was fifteen feet tall, and incredibly well built. Like all minotaurs, he had the legs and feet of a bull. His upper body was that of a man's, but he had a bull's head with a large gold ring piercing his nostrils. His eyes were a piercing, beady black as if he had no soul.

"You could have just knocked!" Al exclaimed.

"Yeah, there's a back entrance for the bigger monsters," Johnny revealed.

The minotaur bared his teeth as he stared at Drac and his family. Mavis made sure to motion for Dennis to get behind her.

"Are you kidding me?!" Drac angrily exclaimed. "Do you know how much of a hassle it'll be for me to get that doorway replaced? You're so lucky I have insurance."

Al quickly moved in front of the minotaur in a green wisp; it was another ability he learned from Drac. Al had to look way up at the towering minotaur, but he didn't feel intimidated. The minotaur's body protected Al from the sunlight outside.

"Listen, buddy," started Al, "you just interrupted an important family conversation. Not only that, you destroyed the nice entrance to this lovely hotel. I'm going to have to ask you to apologize and help clean up your mess, mister... Who are you, exactly?"

"A Hunter," the minotaur revealed. His voice was deep, heavy, and very intimidating.

"Ah," muttered Al. "Well... Motherfu-"

The minotaur back-slapped Al with his right hand. This sent Al flying to a wall thirty feet to the minotaur's right. Al crashed into the wall with a loud thud. Some of the stones that made up the wall broke off and fell onto Al.

"Well, at least this one can talk," said Drac. He then aimed his hand at the minotaur to paralyze it, but the gigantic monster crossed his arms in an x-shape. Drac was incredibly surprised. He was too busy wondering how the minotaur could've negated his powers that he didn't notice it charging towards him. Luckily, Mavis yelled "Watch out!" just in time to save Drac from being trampled.

Johnny, Drac, Mavis, and Dennis all lunged to the side to avoid the minotaur's charge. It ran straight past them and crashed into the lobby's reception desk. The desk and computers on it were completely destroyed. The keys hanging from the wall behind it all fell down onto the ground.

Mavis and Drac dodged in the same direction, and Johnny and Dennis dodged in the opposite direction.

"Johnny!" Mavis exclaimed. "Get Dennis and get out!"

"But, what about _you_?" Johnny asked.

"Somebody has to fight that thing," she asserted.

"I can fight, too," Dennis insisted.

"Not this one, Dennis," Mavis said. "One hit from him, and you're done for. Just get back to the room. I'll meet up with you guys when this is over."

The minotaur roared as he turned around. He picked up a large part of the broken wooden desk and threw it at Johnny and Dennis. Before either of them could dodge it, they were grabbed from the back of their shirts and floated away.

Lily had flown in on her succubus wings and carried Dennis and Johnny to safety. All three of them dodged the flying wood.

"What're you doing here?" Mavis asked, looking up at Lily.

"I got a text from Al," Lily revealed. "He said 'There's a giant minotaur who broke into the lobby and is attacking us. LOL.'"

Mavis then looked over at Al who was still laying on the ground against the wall he was thrown at. He smiled and waved his phone towards Mavis to confirm that he had just sent the text.

"You certainly move fast," complimented Mavis.

"Thank you!" Al exclaimed.

"Wasn't talking to you," Mavis elaborated. "Anyway, Lily, can I ask you to take Johnny and Dennis away from here. To my room, specifically."

"Anything to help," nodded Lily.

Despite Dennis' protests, Lily flew Johnny and Dennis up the stairs and out of the lobby. The minotaur merely watched as the three escaped. He didn't seem to care much. Mavis, Drac, and Al were more relevant threats.

Al recovered quickly from his damaging attack by the huge beast. He transformed into a bat and landed behind Mavis and Drac - both of whom were taking battle stances.

Father, son, and daughter stood together and ready to take on their foe.

"This is quite the family reunion," said Al.

* * *

Lily followed Johnny and Dennis into their home. She observed the room to see the living conditions of Dracula's daughter, and she was surprised to find that they lived rather modestly.

Tinkles was excited to see Johnny and Dennis, but the giant dog wasn't jumping up and down about it. Lily was an unfamiliar face to the dog, but Tinkles wasn't one to be wary of strangers.

"Daddy, we need to help Mommy," Dennis argued.

"I want to help her, too," Johnny said. "But, I can't do much, and it's too dangerous for you. Mavis wanted us to be safe, and we're doing exactly that."

"If you want to help, then do as I say," Lily interjected. "Johnny, I just got another text from Al. He said that Mavis needed her poncho."

"Why?" Johnny asked.

Lily shrugged.

"I'll be right back with it," groaned Johnny.

He left the living room and entered his bedroom. It was a good thing that he knew exactly where Mavis kept her poncho. He approached her wardrobe and opened it. Among the black tops that she always wore hung her multi-colored poncho. Johnny grabbed it, turned around, and was shocked to find Lily standing behind him.

"Uh," Johnny started, "you didn't have to follow me."

"I'm sorry," Lily said.

"No need to apologize," assured Johnny. "No harm done."

"No," Lily denied. "I'm sorry for _this_."

She then punched Johnny incredibly hard in the face. He was knocked out immediately, and he fell back into Mavis's open wardrobe.

Lily looked over Johnny's unconscious body and said, "Long live the Hunters."

Behind her, she heard the sound of flapping bat wings. Rolling her eyes, she turned around and swung her arm. She smacked Dennis's bat form away from her and sent him flying against the wall. As he hit the wall of the bedroom, he transformed back to normal and slid down onto the floor.

Although Dennis wasn't unconscious, he was incredibly dazed.

"I really don't like hurting children, especially those as cute as yourself," Lily said. "But, sometimes you have to do what you have to do."

Her tone of voice completely changed. No longer was she kind and amiable. Her voice was much, much colder than anyone could've ever thought possible from Lily.

"You're a bad guy, too," stated Dennis. "You're a Hunter just like the cow-man downstairs."

He slowly rose to his feet, and Lily allowed him.

"Well, me saying 'long live the Hunters' implies that, yes," Lily said. "But, the difference between me and that big, dumb cow downstairs or that lizard you have in the dungeons is that I have a mind of my own."

She took a step closer to Dennis, and said, "The boss would've preferred to have Dracula... But you'll do just fine."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think!

This is the point in the story where things get really exciting. I know the villain presence hasn't been very strong so far, but you'll learn more about the Hunters and their motivations soon. Also, there are going to be a few great action sequences coming.

Ciao.


	12. Enemies Closer

**Enemies Closer**

"A little help, Al?" Mavis requested. She sidestepped the minotaur's punch to the floor. The fist cracked the floor where it impacted. Mavis furiously punched the beast's forearm while it was close to her, but she wasn't doing any damage to it.

Drac was hanging onto the fifteen-foot-tall minotaur's giant shoulder and punching its neck. Just like Mavis, however, he wasn't doing any damage. The minotaur swatted Drac away with his free hand. As Drac flew in midair, he transformed into a bat and regained control over his body position.

"I'll be there in a minute," Al yelled to the two. He was busy rummaging through things in the corner of the lobby. Mavis and Drac weren't too focused on what he was doing since the minotaur was of greater consequence.

"What the hell are you doing?" Drac asked Al.

Drac dove towards the minotaur's face as a bat. To distract it from her father, Mavis floated beside the minotaur and began a string of jabs to the side of his exposed torso. She was hoping she cracked a rib, but the beast's body was incredibly durable.

With its huge hand, it grabbed Mavis and locked her arms against her body. She winced as it squeezed. However, the pain she was in gave Drac the motivation to punch the monster in the face as hard as he could. Drac's tiny bat-fist forced the minotaur's head jerking to the side, and Drac had knocked out a tooth. The momentary pain it felt forced it to let go of Mavis.

Both Mavis and Drac lunged backwards to avoid any quick retaliation from the beast.

"I've got it!" Al exclaimed.

Mavis and Drac smiled when they heard the news. They thought Al had finally figured out a way to take down their tough opponent and that he was ready to jump in and join the fight. Unfortunately, their smiles died when they heard the music that was blasting out of the speakers Johnny set up at the corner of the lobby.

 _Shot through the heart and you're to blame / Darling, you give love a bad name_

"Are you kidding me right now?" Dracula angrily asked as he jumped high to avoid the minotaur's arm sweep over the ground.

"You need to get your priorities checked," Mavis lectured. She ran and slid under the minotaur and in-between its legs. It noticed her go under, and it turned around as a reaction. Fortunately, the minotaur's distraction made it so that Drac was standing at a blind spot behind it.

 _An angel's smile is what you sell / You promised me heaven but put me through hell_

Mavis flipped backwards as the minotaur slammed both fists into the ground. Below the rug where the monster hit, the stone floor cracked and broke.

Behind the beast, Drac began to levitate. When he was about ten feet in the air, he darted like a bullet towards the back of it. Drac collided with the back of the beast. Not only did it groan in pain - though, undoubtedly pain that wasn't severe - it began to fell forward over Mavis.

Luckily, she managed to slide to the side to avoid being crushed by the weight of the monster.

"Mavis!" Al called. "Double uppercut!"

 _Chains of love, got a hold on me_

Automatically, she prepared herself to uppercut the beast. Al appeared to the side of the minotaur opposite to Mavis, and he had his fist clenched. As the minotaur's head got closer and closer to the ground, Al and Mavis both launched their fists upward - colliding with the minotaur's chin. They couldn't help but smile when they did it.

 _When passions a prison, you can't break free_

When it completely fell face-forward on the ground, it shook the ground around them. Al and Mavis walked around the monster and stood side-by-side as they observed it from behind. They could feel Dracula approaching behind them.

"What're the chances of him getting up after that?" Mavis asked her father and brother.

While still facing downward, the minotaur raised its fist and slammed the ground.

"One-hundred-percent," answered Drac.

 _You're a loaded gun, yeah_

The minotaur got up and breathed heavily as it did so. Mavis, Al, and Drac all slowly took steps backward as their fifteen-foot-tall enemy towered them once again. It extended its arms to its side and roared. Al noticed an amazing opportunity to defeat the monster.

While its arms were far apart, Al aimed his hand at the minotaur and attempted to freeze it. The minotaur was surrounded by a green energy for a split second, and it seemed to be immobilized. It's mouth was wide open in mid-roar.

Al wiped dirt and dust off of the shoulders of his black zipper-jacket nonchalantly as if the battle was over.

"Wow," Mavis muttered,

"That's my boy!" Drac exclaimed, nearly jumping in the air.

"There's nowhere to run," Al said - singing along to the song playing in the speakers. "No one can save me, the damage is done."

Their relief was cut incredibly short. The minotaur slowly began vibrating. At first, it was subtle. It soon became very violent. The vibrations evolved into basic movement. The green energy appeared once again around the minotaur, but this time, the immobilization was undone. The monster had regained movement, and the first thing it did was slap its hands together.

 _Shot through the heart, and you're to blame / You give love a bad name_

It swung its hands downward over the family. All three of them transformed into bats and narrowly dodged the gigantic hands.

"I swear, there was no way he should've broken through that," Al complained. He grabbed onto the back of the minotaur's head. With one hand, he held onto the horn. With the other hand, he was slamming his fist over the beast's scalp.

"I thought performance issues were supposed to come later in life," Mavis joked as she let out a barrage of attacks to the back of the minotaur's knee. She hoped that she would be strong enough to break and bend the bone so that the minotaur wouldn't be able to stand up.

"That was a solid freeze," Drac stated. "I've never heard of anyone forcing their way through our powers like that before." He tugged on the minotaur's tail. For whatever reason, he thought that it would be extremely painful for the minotaur if he did so.

In mere seconds, the minotaur did away with all of his attackers. He kicked Mavis away with the leg she was attacking, and she was sent flying up towards the lobby's key wall, behind the desk. Of course, all the keys had fallen off and the desk was destroyed.

He controlled his tail and lifted Drac up with it. He then tossed Drac to the side, and the Count collided into and destroyed a few luxury waiting-area chairs and a waiting-area table.

As for Al, the minotaur grabbed him with his right hand. Al struggled to get out of the grip but to no avail. The minotaur prepared to throw Al like one would throw a baseball. The vigilante from New York gulped as the minotaur threw him straight towards the left wall of the lobby.

Al yelled. Drac got up, rubbed his head, and immediately ducked to avoid Al slamming into him. Al flew right past his father and collided with the stone wall. However, the minotaur threw him hard enough that Al broke through. In a comical fashion, he broke through multiple layers of walls following the first. He was sent flying through hallways, bathrooms, and bedrooms.

With each layer, he managed to shout out a single word. The sentence he ended up making was, "How! Is! This! Physically! Possible!"

Mavis wasn't having as bad as luck as Al was. She flew over to her father, and put her hand on his shoulder. They both made sure to keep their eyes locked on the minotaur to anticipate his next move.

"We need to call the guards," Mavis said. "The gargoyles, the knights, the witches, anyone!"

"This thing'll just knock them all down," Drac said. "I'd also rather not have all the guests become incredibly alarmed just right now."

" _I'm_ incredibly alarmed!" Mavis complained.

The minotaur charged towards the part of the wall where Al was thrown through. On all fours, it broke through all of the walls Al had previously broken through, leaving larger holes behind. Clearly, it was headed to Al's location. That did not bode well for Al.

Mavis and Drac transformed and flew after the minotaur.

* * *

Dennis wasn't just going to let himself be captured by Lily. Since they were confined to the small space of his parents' bedroom, there was little action he could do. However, he was a lot stronger than he looked. He managed to take on the bat cronies, after all.

Dennis attempted to freeze Lily, but she crossed her arms in an x-shape. Never before has Dennis seen the vampire ability fail.

"How can you do that?" Dennis asked.

Lily lunged toward Dennis and pressed her bare foot against him. This pushed him against the wall, and the force of her foot kept him stuck there. The child winced in pain.

"There's nothing special about it," Lily revealed. "Everyone's able to do it. It's funny how some things are easily lost in history."

Dennis transformed into a bat and escaped from Lily's pressure. He flew straight towards her head with his fist raised. It was safe to say that she was caught by surprise. After getting her cheek punched, she was knocked to the side and fell over Johnny and Mavis's bed.

He then flew over to his unconscious father nearby. Dennis transformed back into a humanoid to try to shake Johnny awake.

"Daddy," Dennis pleaded. "Wake up."

Lily slammed her fist against the bed in anger. She pushed herself off and focused on Dennis.

"You're a lot more trouble than you're worth," she complained as she marched towards Dennis.

Dennis gave up on waking Johnny. Instead, he glared at Lily - ready to fight her. He began to float in the air and charged towards Lily. She was prepared. She side-stepped Dennis, and when he was just past her, she grabbed onto his leg. This caught Dennis by surprise. She then threw him at the bookshelf beside the bed on the opposite side of the wardrobe.

The bookshelf collapsed when Dennis hit it, and he was buried under books and broken wood.

Lily then sniffed the most foul odor she had ever sniffed in her life. Next to her head was a dirty sock that smelled like if a skunk used it to wipe its butt. The succubus jumped away, covering her nose. She saw that Johnny was responsible for holding the sock near her.

"You animal," Lily insulted. "How has Mavis not divorced you already?"

"I keep this guy at the bottom of my backpack," revealed Johnny. He then tossed the sock behind him. "Bless my backpack." He had recovered quite quickly, but he still seemed weak from the blow he previously received from Lily.

"You know you can't win," warned Lily.

"I'm a certified yellow-belt," said Johnny. "You should be afraid."

Lily didn't realize that Johnny had left his phone in the wardrobe, and he was calling Mavis with it.

* * *

When Al finally stopped flying through walls, he had the worst body ache he ever experienced. He found himself in the Hotel dining hall. There were many obvious differences in the hall, however. Surrounding the room were party decorations. The ceiling had words written in spider-webs that read "Happy 127th Birthday, Mavis." A handful of zombies - spread throughout the room - were slowly working on further decorations.

"Well, I have this to look forward to," Al told himself.

He cursed as he felt the minotaur getting closer. Picking himself off of the ground was hard - as one would expect after being thrown through countless walls.

"Ow," said Al. "Everything hurts. Just... Everything hurts."

The minotaur broke through the same section of a wall Al broke through. However, the hole the minotaur left was much, much larger.

"Buddy!" Al called. "Something tells me you don't want to settle things peacefully. I'm going to give you one more chance to surrender."

"Why would I do that?" The minotaur asked in his deep, scary voice.

"Because it'll save you some embarrassment," Al answered. "Do you _know_ who I am?"

"A soccer ball," the minotaur answered.

"That's not what I was going to sa-"

The minotaur lunged at Al and kicked him upward towards the ceiling. Al screamed as he broke through the ceiling and into a bedroom bathroom. He lay there with his face flat on the floor. He heard a woman scream nearby. Al looked up to see a female skeleton showering.

"Uh... Sorry," Al apologized.

The door of the bathroom swung open, and a male skeleton walked in.

"This is like the seventh time this has happened to us!" The male skeleton yelled angrily. "You people are sick!"

The skeleton kicked Al through the hole in the floor. As he flew down, he transformed into a bat to avoid crashing down on the floor of the large hall. The minotaur followed Al as he floated down to his feet.

When Al transformed back, he looked down to his shoulder. The sleeve of his zipper-jacket was ripped.

"You son-of-a-bitch," Al insulted. "You ruined my favorite jacket. I'm afraid I'm going to have to torture you, now. When you mess with The Fang, you get bit!"

"The Fang?" The minotaur asked.

"Yes, The Fang," Al said. "Y'know? Vigilante of New York. Strikes fear into the hearts of criminals. Vampire Batman. Ring a bell?"

"That's a stupid name," the minotaur said.

"Okay, I don't need this right now," Al muttered.

"You really need to work on your one-liners," said Mavis.

The minotaur turned around and saw Mavis and Dracula standing in the large hole the minotaur made on the wall. Father and daughter approached the large beast together. Mavis kept on running, but Drac started to float in the air. The minotaur readied its fists to attack, but Al had grabbed him by the neck from behind.

It was too focused on getting Al off of it that it couldn't block Mavis and Drac's attacks. Drac flew in and punched it in the nose at the same time Mavis lunged up from the ground and elbowed it in the stomach. Al knew to let go from the neck and jump off of the minotaur. The force of his launch forced the minotaur to fall forward.

When Al landed, he found himself standing in the middle of Mavis and Drac. All three of them had taken battle poses.

"Is the party _tonight_?" Mavis asked, looking around at the zombies - who were ignoring the fight - setting up the decorations.

"Of course not," Drac answered. "It's tomorrow - your actual birthday. Besides, is this what you really want to be talking about?"

"The big guy'll be getting up soon," Al pointed out.

Mavis heard her phone ring and vibrate from her pocket. She pulled it out and saw that Johnny was calling.

"Some people just don't know how to plug out," Al complained.

"Tell me about it," Drac concurred. "When I was your age, we actually had to write letters and talk to people face-to-face. Our entertainment came from watching humans trying to survive plagues. Now those were good times."

"A little busy here, Johnny," Mavis said after picking up. "Johnny?"

She heard the sounds of a struggle in the background as well as grunts. There was definitely something bad going on.

"Dad, there's something wrong," Mavis announced.

"If it's the fifteen-foot tall walking cow, I noticed," Al muttered.

"I don't know why, but Johnny's in trouble," she continued.

"He's your husband," Drac reminded. "You don't need my permission to go."

"Thanks, Dad," Mavis said. She put her hand on Al's shoulder, and told him, "It'd only be right for me to wish you good luck."

"You won't have to worry about me," Al promised.

She nodded, smiled, transformed into a bat, and flew off. The minotaur didn't make an attempt to keep her in the room. Instead, it prepared itself to take on Al and Drac together.

"Well, old-man," Al started, "let's see what you got."

* * *

Mavis used her clairvoyance to see that Johnny was in their room. What she saw frightened her. His unconscious body was laying back against Tinkles who also seemed out of it. Dennis was nowhere to be seen.

From the bottom floor, she took the elevator up to the floor her room was in. She kept on pressing her phone against her ear to listen to what exactly was happening. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear much. All that she could make out were unclear voices.

When the elevator dinged to her floor, Mavis sped out of it in a blur. In a second, she was standing in front of her bedroom door. Without care, she kicked the door open and it broke off of the hinges.

Just like she saw previously, Tinkles was laying on his side. Johnny sat with his back pressed against the dog's belly, and Johnny's eyes were closed. His clothes were in terrible condition. Obviously, he had been in a fight and lost.

Mavis jogged toward her husband and knelt down next to him.

"Johnny?" She asked.

"Oh, Mavis," said Lily's voice from nearby. Mavis found Lily standing in the doorway to her bedroom. Slung over Lily's shoulder was a sack that was filled with something that was moving.

"You people just keep making my job more difficult," Lily complained.

"What's in the sack?" Mavis asked, still unsure of what was happening.

"Your brat," answered Lily.

"Dennis!" Mavis called.

They both heard a groan coming from inside the sack, and the voice was Dennis's.

"How could you?" Mavis asked. She never would've guessed that Lily was a traitor.

"I'm a Hunter, sweetie," Lily said. "I would've done this a lot sooner, had I known how easy it was."

Lily dropped the sack, and Dennis fell onto the floor. Quicker than Mavis would've expected, Lily dashed towards her and kneed her in the stomach. As Mavis lurched forward in pain, Lily grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her at a nearby wall.

Mavis recovered quickly and slid to the side, avoiding Lily's kick. Lily's foot hit the wall instead. Mavis grabbed Lily's leg and swung it aside. This forced Lily to fall sideways, rolling on the floor. Before Lily could get up, Mavis ran towards her and kicked her side. Mavis - who was incredibly strong - was able to kick Lily away and flying towards the living room window.

Lily broke through the window. Because the room was located very high up in the Hotel, Lily found herself in midair. She managed to regain control of her body and used her wings to float herself. Immediately, she flew back into the room and clashed with Mavis.

Both women pressed their forearms against each other, trying to push the other down.

"Al really knows how to pick them, doesn't he?" Mavis joked.

"My time with Al was fun, but playtime's over," Lily said.

She head-butted Mavis by hitting Mavis in the bridge of the nose. The vampire cupped her nose as she staggered backwards. Lily used this opportunity to kick Mavis's knee. This forced Mavis to fall on one knee, leaving her vulnerable. She side-kicked Mavis's head, and Mavis was sent rolling until she was stopped by Tinkles's body.

Mavis lifted her arm and pointed it towards Lily. The succubus merely rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You prime vampires really need to stop relying on that parlor trick," said Lily. "Don't bother trying freezing people who know how to block it."

"Good advice," Mavis said. "Not really relevant."

Lily raised her eyebrow. She then looked up to find a large, flat-screen television floating over her head. Mavis was using her telekinesis to lift it up. Before she could dodge it, Mavis dropped the television onto Lily. It hit her head-first, and Lily fell onto the floor with the broken TV over her.

"Heads up," chuckled Mavis.

Lily looked like she was knocked out. Mavis slowly got up, feeling incredibly proud of her victory. Slowly, she made her way towards Dennis in the sack - walking around Tinkles and Johnny. She was sure her husband and pet were completely fine.

"Dennis," Mavis called.

"Mommy?" asked Dennis. He sounded incredibly weak. "It hurts."

She knelt in front of the sack, and held it by the end that opened. It was closed by a simple tie, and she reckoned she could get Dennis out in no time.

Something unexpected happened. Suddenly, a silver chain ran across Mavis's body. It was followed by another wrap, and then another. Before she knew it, she was completely wrapped in silver chains. She wasn't able to do anything to stop it, either. Vampires were weak to silver.

Mavis fell to the side, wincing in pain. She couldn't move her arms. Her legs were free, but the pain was too unbearable for her to walk. When she looked up, she saw Lily smirking at her. The succubus's hair was completely ruined, and Mavis found that entertaining.

"Glad I kept that around," Lily announced. "Don't worry, the silver won't kill you. Unless you get stabbed, you should be fine. Still, it should hurt like hell, and I can see it's doing its job. I'd take you instead of the boy, but I'd rather not carry you."

Lily grabbed the sack and walked away from Mavis, heading towards the broken window of the room.

"No," Mavis pleaded. "Take me instead! Leave him out of this! He's just a boy!"

"Sorry, hon," Lily said, shrugging. She then flew out of the window with Dennis.

* * *

Drac and Al jumped back to avoid the Minotaur's ground-pound. The shiny wooden floor splintered below its fists.

Al flew up to its face and punched it. As he was flying away, the minotaur grabbed his legs. It lunged, reached for, and grabbed Drac with his free arm. With one vampire in each hand, the minotaur swung his arms together, forcing Al and Drac to slam into each other.

Both vampires were dazed. It tossed Al upward, and as Al was descending, the minotaur threw Drac at him. Drac intercepted Al, and the two crashed onto the ground together.

"We really need reinforcements," Al groaned. "I swear, if I'm thrown one more goddamn time, I'm going to make a steak out of that cow."

"First off, it's part bull, but you know what? Maybe you're right," Drac said. The vampire stuck two fingers into his mouth and whistled.

Al and Drac jumped to their feet.

Al asked, "That did absolutely nothing."

"Give it time, Al," Drac said. He almost missed the flying table. The minotaur had thrown a table at Drac, and he managed to catch it using his telekinesis before he got hit by it.

Drac pulled the table closer to himself, and turned to Al.

"Get on," he told Al.

"Oh, hell yes."

Al hopped onto the table and held onto the edge. The minotaur didn't seem to mind the crazy idea. It prepared itself for the maneuver. Drac threw the table at the minotaur with Al on it. The vigilante laughed as he flew towards the large beast.

The minotaur caught the table in midair just as Al jumped off of it. It was too slow to avoid Al, however. With all of his might, Al punched the minotaur's face right between the eyes. Although it staggered backwards and winced, it spun around to maintain its balance. As it reoriented itself, it tossed the table like a frisbee towards Drac.

Unfortunately for Drac, he was caught off guard. He believed that Al's attack would be enough to defeat the creature. This led to the table breaking on Drac, and Drac was forced flying back into the wall below the windows of the large room.

"Drac?" Al asked as he flew towards his father. He knelt next to the Count and nudged him. Drac gave no response.

"Out cold," muttered Al.

He heard the Minotaur's footsteps get louder. He was all that challenged the beast now. Standing up, he got into his battle pose. However, he was surprised to find that the minotaur wasn't focusing on him. In fact, it was looking above Al's head at the window.

Curious, Al floated to be able to look out the window himself. He was incredibly confused by what he saw. Lily was using her succubus wings to fly outside, away from the Hotel. In her hands was a sack that was filled with something.

Al focused his mind, and then his eyes. He used his clairvoyance to look out the window at what Lily was doing exactly. She had a smirk on her face, and the sack was moving.

"What the hell," Al quietly said.

He recalled that Lily was supposed to be taking care of Dennis and Johnny in their bedroom. He used his clairvoyance to turn his vision towards Mavis and Johnny's bedroom. Although he had no idea where it was relative to the outside of the Hotel, he saw that only one of the rooms had a broken window. Looking through the broken window, he saw that Mavis was chained in silver, Johnny and Tinkles were unconscious, and Dennis was nowhere to be seen.

It took a second for Al to comprehend what exactly Lily had done.

"No," he denied. "Not her."

"I'm done here," The minotaur announced.

Al cursed, turned around, and saw that the minotaur was charging out of the hall through the same hole he created to get in.

"Dammit," he said.

He wasn't as conflicted as many would've been. Sure, it wouldn't be good to let the minotaur get away, but he couldn't let Lily get away with whatever shady thing she had done. Furthermore, the guards had already been alerted on the Minotaur. They would surely intercept him on his way out.

Without a second thought, Al broke through the window he was looking through. After transforming into a bat, what immediately came into mind was the pain. The sun was up and shining bright outside, and it was hurting Al. Rarely has he ever suffered from sunlight, and it burned worse than he remembered.

"Please don't be a bad girl," Al told himself repeatedly. He couldn't believe that he had let someone get so close only to betray him.

"Lily!" Al called.

The succubus turned around and began to fly backwards. She looked at the smoking bat fifteen feet away from her with amusement.

He tried to freeze her with his powers, but the pain from the sun prevented him from channeling his abilities. He had to do things the traditional way.

"Alucard," she greeted. "Nice day, huh?"

"I'm getting a little sunburnt, but yeah. It's a very nice day. So, tell me your story? Were you a kidnapped succubus who got brainwashed or are you just a terrible person?"

"Oh, admit it, you had fun," Lily said as she dodged Al who flew like a bullet towards her. "Nothing more than a ruse, unfortunately."

"Sign me up for another," Al joked. "Was the stuff you did with your tail the other night part of the ruse? If so, good job for being so committed."

Lily swung her sack towards Al who was flying in front of her. She managed to smack him so that he began to fly behind. It didn't take him long to regain control of himself, luckily. He flew faster and grabbed onto her ankle, holding on as hard as he could while she tried to shake him off.

The sun made everything difficult. His entire body was surging with a burning sensation. He needed to get under some shade soon or he was for sure going to shrivel up and die.

"I should've known it was too good to be true," said Al. "I don't think we zinged, either. It's all good, though. I'm sure I can find someone better than you."

"Excuse me?!"

He lunged up her leg and transformed back into his regular form. Al - with his skin blistering and clothes smoking - grabbed onto Lily from behind. He made sure to press against her wings so that they weren't functioning.

"Let the boy go, Lily!" Al ordered.

"Too late for that, Al!" Lily barked. "This was always our mission. If you stop me from taking the boy there'll be hell to pay!"

They descended lower and lower at an incredibly speed. Smoke followed them as they fell. They were headed straight down into the cemetery near the Hotel. Unfortunately for Al, there was little shade in the cemetery. If they crash-landed there, then he'd still be exposed to the sun.

"Not like this!" Al pleaded, trying to get his hand on Lily's bag.

"Don't forget, Al, that I know your secret!" Lily said, jerking her head back to hit Al's face. "I can turn them all against you faster than you realize. Don't forget about what'll happen to you-know-who. Then, we'll take the kid anyways. Hell, we'll take his mother and grandfather, too. We'll tear the Hotel to the ground with no one to protect it."

"Shut up!" Al ordered.

"It's your choice, Al!" announced Lily. "The easy way or the hard way?"

She managed to free her elbow from Al's clutches. Using it, she twisted and smacked Al in the face, and he was forced to let go of her. As he was falling, she stopped descending. After elevating herself, she returned to flying high above. Dennis was still in her possession.

Lily looked back to see where Al was relative to her, but she was shocked to find him out of her sight. However, she immediately began to struggle when she felt him land on her back.

She couldn't finish saying "What are you doing?"

"I'm not sure if you know how it feels to be stabbed in the back," Al started, "but I hope this is more painful."

Al grabbed hold of the end of her right wing where it connected to her back. He then pulled as hard as he could, and she was screaming as he was doing so. They began to descend again. Soon, he ripped her wing off completely. She howled in pain, flapping her one remaining wing as hard as she could.

In her pain, she let go of the sack. Al kicked off of her, sending her flying down towards the forest floor far away. Dennis, however, was falling straight down towards the cemetery. Although Al just wanted to lay down and die, his job wasn't over. He transformed into a bat and flew straight down after Dennis.

Dennis was approaching the ground quicker than Al was comfortable with. Al was accelerating as quick as he could. He tried his best to ignore the pain from the sun. Just as Dennis got ten feet from the ground, Al grabbed the sack, transformed back into a humanoid, and hugged Dennis inside of it. With Dennis protected, he let himself crash onto the ground.

The pain of impact wasn't nearly as painful as the sun. Al was perfectly conscious, but he had no desire to move. He had the energy to look to his left and find Dennis exposed to the sunlight. Near Dennis' feet was the sack, opened. During the crash, the sack was untied and Dennis had rolled out of it.

The sunlight was burning Dennis just as badly as it was burning Al. Unfortunately for Dennis, he was unconscious. He couldn't do anything to get out of the sun. If they didn't get under shade soon, they would die. However, Al was too injured to fly them anywhere safe.

He looked at the empty sack laid out on the ground. It was large enough to serve as a blanket to cover Dennis or Al - assuming Al curled up. However, only one of them would be able to get protection. It was Al's choice on who that would be.

Al decided instantly who would be protected. With the last of his energy, he reached for the sack and covered Dennis with it. Al then closed his eyes and waited for the sun to kill him.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think!

Sorry for the long wait. Like I said, this has been the busiest month of my life.

Ciao.


	13. Family

**Family**

Al woke up screaming, "Turn it off!"

Johnny immediately turned off the Fifth Harmony song, "Worth It," from the speaker sitting in front of Al's bed.

"What?" Johnny asked. "Everybody likes that song!"

To Al's left was Mavis - holding Dennis in her arms - and to his right was Drac. Standing at the foot of the bed near the speaker was Johnny. Besides the five, there was no one else inside the infirmary.

Al looked down and saw that he was still wearing the same set of clothes he had on when he fought Lily and the minotaur. He nearly wept at the sight of the rip on the shoulder of his jackt. Luckily, he wasn't as weak as he thought he would be. In fact, he was full of energy. He thought he was invincible because he was sure he was going to die earlier.

"Who was my knight in shining armor?" Al asked.

"The guards found you and Dennis not long after I called them," revealed Drac. "They said that you were cooking like bacon, but Dennis was safe under the sack."

Al remembered laying on his back, closing his eyes and taking in the sun. It was the most painful experience of his life. He was glad that he was able to save Dennis from it.

"You weren't waking up when they found you," continued Drac, "so they brought you to the doctor. He said it was a miracle that you're still alive. Any longer, you would've died."

"Yeah, I should've brought some sun-screen," said Al.

"It's what I always do," Mavis added.

"As for Dennis," Drac said, "the doctor said that there was no way a child vampire could survive as long as you did. The sack saved his life."

"What happened out there?" Mavis asked. "Lily chained me up and took my son, and all I could've done was wait for Johnny to wake up and unchain me. I didn't see what happened out there with you. The next thing I knew, Dad called me into the infirmary where they brought you."

"How long was I out for?" asked Al.

"Only about two hours," Johnny answered. "It's still morning. Answer her question, though. What happened?"

"Nothing too crazy," answered Al. "I'd just learned that I'd fallen in love with a Hunter spy, so I was a little upset when I fought her. I ripped her wing off and fell down into the cemetery with Dennis."

"You ripped her wing off?" Johnny asked.

"Unimportant," said Al. "Anyway, when we landed, Dennis and I were burning up. I took the sack and covered him with it. Next thing I know, you wake me up with that terrible song."

" _Thank_ you," said Drac, glaring at Johnny.

"You... You saved my son's life? At the risk of your own?" Mavis inquired. Her lip was quivering, and her voice was breaking. Her eyes gave off a sense of surprise and amazement.

"Well, yeah," confirmed Al. "I figured burning to death was a better alternative to whatever you were going to do to me if he bit the dust."

Mavis put Dennis on Al's bed, and she leaned in to hug Al. She rested her chin on his shoulder, and squeezed him with her arms. The hug surprised Al, and it took him a second to realize what was happening. Mavis was actually showing affection towards him. Mavis - the same girl who antagonized Al ever since he arrived at the Hotel - liked him.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Mavis?" Al asked.

"Shut up," Mavis kindly ordered. "I owe you everything. You have no idea how much my son means to me, and you saved him. Even after all that stuff between us, you saved him."

"It'd be a bad move on my part to let my nephew die," reminded Al.

"Nephew..." Mavis muttered. "Of course. I was furious when I found out the truth about you at first. But, today, I saw a side of you that's incredible. You're selfless, Al. I couldn't see that before. I'm glad that you're my brother. Any ill-will I had towards you before is gone. I want you as a part of my family, if you'll have it."

Dennis walked over Al's body and hugged him from the side opposite to Mavis.

"You're the coolest, Uncle Al," Dennis said.

Johnny approached and leaned over his family, wrapping his arms around them all. He said, "Love you guys!"

"That's great," said Al, wheezing. "I'd love to breath, though, so please get off."

The family did not comply to his demand. They continued to hug Al with closed eyes and grins on their faces.

"Drac!" Al called. "Help me!"

"No, you can't call me that anymore," lectured Drac. He crossed his arms and smiled at Al being tortured.

"Don't do this to me right now," Al pleaded. His voice was getting raspier.

"Come on, Al. Say it," demanded Drac.

"Just this once," Al offered.

"I'll take it."

"Please, help me _Dad_."

Drac approached the hugging group with his arms wide open. Since his reach was quite long, he managed to hug the entire group of people. All except Al welcomed his embrace.

"I hate you all," Al complained. "I don't want to be a part of this family anymore."

His comment left them all unfazed. They didn't care what he was saying. They only cared about showing their affection.

"Put a stake in my heart now, please," Al muttered.

* * *

Lily stood atop of a hill in the forest, looking at the Hotel in the distance. She was wincing in pain whenever she tried flapping her wings. She was incredibly scared that the pain resulting from her wing being ripped off was going to haunt her forever.

"Breathtaking view," said a man with a Cockney British accent behind her. "It looks so much better at night, however."

She turned around and found him standing in the shadow of a tree. He was leaning against the trunk, and his hands were in his pocket. Although she couldn't see the man clearly, she knew what he looked like. She knew who he was.

"Ah, a one-winged angel," the man sadly stated. "Such a shame. What happened?"

"The goddamn ace-in-the-hole had a change of heart," revealed Lily.

"You were tasked with keeping an eye on him," the man reminded. "You had _one_ job, and you failed - "

"No," Lily interrupted. "There's something about him. Something we don't know."

"Well, what _do_ we know?" the man asked.

"He's a prime vampire," Lily informed.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well, goddamn it."

"What's pissing you off, boss?" she asked, stepping closer to the figure in the shadows.

"I'm mad because we could've made things a lot easier for us a long time ago. I didn't tell you why we're after that family. We're only hunting Dracula and his family because they're the only known prime vampires left. Now, since Alucard is a prime vampire - "

"We won't need to hunt anymore," Lily concluded. "Not unless he forces us to."

"Let's hope he complies," the man said. "You're going to have to tell him about his choices."

"I'll never make it within one-hundred feet of the Hotel without getting killed or worse," complained Lily.

"You're a smart girl. You'll figure it out."

"And if he's a coward? What if he wants to do things the hard way?"

"Then we do things the hard way. We'll kill the woman, and then we'll force our way into the Hotel and take what we want."

"Didn't work so well this morning, boss," she reminded.

"My mistake. Next time, we'll bring some more teeth."

* * *

"Good evening, my fellow monsters," Drac announced. He was floating in the air, carrying a microphone.

Hours after Al had woken up in the infirmary, night had fallen once again, and the monsters of the Hotel had gathered in the dining hall for breakfast. The zombies were busy working on birthday party decorations around them as well as repairing the damage the minotaur caused during the big fight.

Al, Mavis, Johnny, and Dennis had their own table. Drac's friends occupied the table right next to theirs. The rest of the tables were filled with the Hotel guests. Everyone was looking up at the owner of the establishment as he was making his announcements.

"Now, I know what you're all thinking," started Drac. "What happened to the Hotel? Well, we're not remodeling that's for sure." Drac waited a short moment for monsters to laugh at his jest.

He heard a voice say, "Boo! Get off the stage!"

"Well, jokes on you, I'm not on a stage," Drac said. "Anyway, we _definitely_ were not attacked by a Hunter last night, so you don't need to worry about that."

Another voice called, "We weren't thinking about the Hunters, but now that you mention it - "

Drac interrupted by saying, "A dissatisfied minotaur decided to take one step too far with his complaints. Repairs will be completed within the week. Should any of you require compensation for any troubles this morning's events may have caused, feel free to write it down on a slip of paper and send it to the front desk... Which no longer exists."

Al approved of his father hiding the truth. He has experienced panicked monsters before, and they were trouble.

"In other news," continued Drac, "today, we will hold the final event for the Monster Marathon. It begins in an hour, so be prepared contestants. Tomorrow, my daughter - Mavis - will be one-hundred-and-twenty-seven, and we'll hold the greatest birthday party you've ever seen!"

Al leaned in closer to Mavis and asked, "Does he rent for you a pony on your birthday? A fairy?"

"No, actually, he hires a clown," Mavis lied.

Al almost fell back on his seat from fear.

Drac floated down from the air onto his seat and immediately began to munch on the food in front of him.

"I never did ask what happened to the big guy," Al revealed. "Is he comically stuck in a dungeon cell that's way too small for him?"

"Well, he went to the dungeon," Drac said. "That's for sure. He broke Mr. Gill out."

Al clearly remembered the scary reptilian monster that they had captured after its failed attempt to kill Johnny.

"What a good friend he is," Johnny stated, un-ironically. "I wish I had a friend who would do that for me."

Al shot Johnny that same perplexed look that Al gave whenever he was studying Johnny. His mind went off of Johnny when he felt a large hand over his shoulder. He then recognized the smelly breath of Frankenstein's monster when Frank began to talk.

"Well, if it isn't Dracula Jr.," Frank announced.

"I've been sitting near you for twenty minutes. You've had twenty minutes to come up with a line to start with, but _that's_ how you start the conversation?" asked Al. "By the way, _Al_ will do just fine."

"I'm just so psyched to have you as part of the pack," Frank said.

"Uh..."

"Give him his space, Frank," Griffin ordered. A floating pair of glasses appeared near to Frank. "Al's too cool to hang with us old timers."

"I didn't say that," argued Al. "It's just that I still need to get used to my direct family before I get used to my extended family."

"I get you," Frank said, nodding. "But before we go, I need to hear about The Fang. With all due respect, the name is kinda dumb."

"So I've heard," Al muttered.

"One-hundred-and-twenty-one years of life means a lot of experiences," Drac pointed out. "We don't have the time to hear about everything."

"What about a story, Papa Drac?" Dennis asked. "Uncle Al can tell a story."

"Well, I don't know," said Al.

"Come on, Little Brother," Mavis requested, punching his arm lightly. "This is our chance to catch-up."

Al sighed. Although he was being strong-armed into telling a story, he was willing. There were far worst things in the world.

He started, "Well, my old friend Dr. Jackal called me one night about a brain-monster who was kidnapped by an evil ex-neurosurgeon..."

* * *

"Go, Mavis!" Johnny and Dennis shouted from their bleacher seats.

The flag was located at the top of the artificial mountain. Surrounding the mountain were various obstacles such as giant fists protruding randomly from the mountain, a swinging cannonball that went around the device, running water to make the climb harder, and random explosives which activated when a hand was placed over a certain area.

The contestants had to climb their way to the top of the small, fifty-foot mountain. The first one to claim the flag at the top would be the winner of the Monster Marathon. If one were to completely fall onto the ground, they were eliminated. Using powers would result in immediate elimination. So far, all but four were eliminated from the running: Mavis, Wayne, Griffin, and Blobby.

The event was located inside the gymnasium of the Hotel. Most of the monsters staying at the Hotel were present. The entire place was packed. One wouldn't be able to go anywhere without accidentally bumping into a few monsters.

The wolf pups took up a good amount of seats. In the middle of the sea of wolf pups were Dennis, Winnie, Drac, Al, Wanda, Frank, and Eunice cheering their friends on.

Mavis and Griffin were scaling the mountain near each other. Wayne had barely made any progress from the bottom of the mountain because of his fear of heights. It was clear that he wasn't going to win the competition.

"Let go of my ankle!" Mavis demanded. An invisible hand was holding her ankle and consequently holding her back. With her other foot, she tried to kick Griffin off, but she kept missing the invisible head.

"Let me get first place, and then I'll let go," Griffin said.

"No!" Mavis denied. "Your fly is showing, by the way."

"What?" Griffin asked as he looked down. This quick distraction allowed Mavis to kick his face from above.

With no one left in her way, she smiled and kept on climbing up towards victory. There was only twenty feet left between her and the top. She managed to dodge an incoming wrecking ball by leaping upwards. She avoiding any slippery sections of the mountain. It didn't take long for her to reach the top of the mountain, and the cheers of the monsters hyped her up.

Her jaw dropped when she found Blobby at the top with the flag inside of him.

From his seat, Drac flew towards the top of the mountain and held out Blobby's arm. He generated a microphone in one hand, and began to speak into it.

"Ghouls and ghosts," he started, "I give you your Monster Marathon champion: Blobby!"

* * *

By the time the Monster Marathon was done, Mavis and Johnny's home was repaired. Everything that was broken was replaced or upgraded. The television that Mavis broke on Lily during their fight was replaced by one that was even larger. Naturally, movie night was a must-have.

Mavis stood in front of everyone that was gathered. Drac, Johnny, Frank, and Eunice were sitting on the large couch. Dennis and Winnie were sitting cross-legged on the floor. Al stood to the left of the couch with his arms crossed, and Griffin stood on the other side. Tinkles sat beside Griffin.

"What movie do we watch tonight?" Mavis asked the group.

"Transformers," Johnny suggested.

"No," Al argued. "I'd like to keep my brain cells, thank you very much."

"What about a comedy?" Drac asked. "Jack and Jill?"

Everyone said "No" at the same time.

"I personally suggest something that'll take my breath away," Mavis opted. "The Notebook."

"Ew," Dennis and Winnie said.

"Yes!" Johnny exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. "That movie puts Mavey in the mood, and did I just say that out loud?!"

Everyone awkwardly nodded, and Johnny slunk back down in his seat. Drac and Eunice - who were sitting next to him - scooted away from the human.

"You all need to be culturally educated," lectured Al. "I suggest Blade Runner."

"Running with blades, isn't that dangerous?" Drac asked.

"No," said Al, "it's not about - "

"Is it about a sword with legs?" Frank asked. "Wait a minute, is my pal Knifey in the movie?"

"Who the heck is Knifey?" inquired a shocked Al.

"He's a monster knife with legs," Eunice answered. "How do you not know Knifey?"

"I've heard of this one," Johnny interjected. "It's about those teenagers stuck in the middle of a maze full of spider-monsters, and they have to escape from the maze."

"Of course, the monsters are the _villains_ again," groaned Drac. "We deserve better representation in movies."

"Forget I said anything," Al insisted.

On and on they went, arguing about whichever movie they would watch.

* * *

"I thought I was supposed to be the brooding loner," Al told Drac from behind.

Drac, standing on the balcony of his room, turned around and saw Al leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. Al was too fond of that pose.

"Did you break into my room?" Drac asked.

"I flew in," corrected Al. "You just didn't notice me."

He approached the railing of the balcony and leaned against it, looking out over the incredible view of the lake, the forest, and beyond.

"You seem rather committed to your role," Drac observed.

"Pardon?"

"A few days ago, you were a stranger. Today, you're my son."

"Well, you don't have any reason to lie to me about anything and everything you told me. Besides, after losing my mom, I'll admit I was in desperate need for people. Maybe that's why I fell so hard for Lily."

Al said it very casually, as if he wasn't emotionally torn. Drac could never hide his emotions as well as Al. Of course, since Al was a vigilante, he had to learn how to mask his feelings.

"She's still out there," Drac reminded. "She'll show herself to us again, and I'm afraid that she won't be alone when she does it. They've hit and hurt us so many times, and we're not a single step closer in figuring out who they are or what they want."

"Enough of this talk of Hunters, Drac," ordered Al, calmly. "After almost dying today, you'll forgive me if I don't want to think about almost dying _again_."

Drac laughed.

"Didn't realize I made a joke there," muttered Al.

"You're still calling me Drac," Drac observed.

"Well, I don't want to move too fast," Al jokingly said. "We're not ready for pet-names yet."

"Did you get that sharp tongue from your mother?" asked Drac.

"No, she hated it," admitted Al. "I learned from the humans... Weird how our opinions of the humans used to be, huh?"

"What'd you mean?"

"You hated humans for God-knows how long," Al reminded. "I had no problem with them for my entire life. From what I hear, Mavis wasn't too different."

"She's stubborn, that one," Drac said. "I'm sure you've noticed. No matter how many times I tried to change her mind, she wouldn't buy it."

Al chuckled, and Drac was encouraged to chuckle along with his son. The Count then flicked his hands and a goblet appeared in each hand filled with blood. He offered one of the goblets to Al who accepted it.

"Well, I can't say I never imagined having a drink with my father," Al said as he leaned on one elbow against the stone railing, looking out at everything in front of him.

"To Lucine," Drac toasted, holding his cup out towards Al.

After a moment of hesitation, Al clanked his cup with Drac's and said, "To Lucine."

"I only wish she could be here to witness this moment," Drac sadly said as he leaned against the railing like Al was doing. He felt embarrassed when Al didn't respond to his comment.

"I'm sorry," Drac apologized. "I keep bringing her up, and it's painful to talk about."

Al grunted in acknowledgement. He then said, "Tell me about Mavis's mother."

"Martha?" Drac was surprised. He didn't expect Al to be interested in the woman who was the reason Drac and Lucine couldn't be together. Alas, he obliged. He had promised full transparency to both of his children.

He said, "She was... kind. When she was alive, the humans feared her, but she was incapable of hurting a fly. Her voice was soft. Her eyes... Mavis has her eyes. I wish..."

"Stop," Al requested. "I can see she's a sore subject. How about we don't discuss either of them for a while?"

"Sounds good to me."

Both of them took sips from their goblets.

"So, vigilante?" Drac asked.

"Yes?"

"No, I'm talking about your job. Is this what you're planning on doing for the rest of your life?"

"I think I'm too old to have this talk," groaned Al.

"Do you make any money doing it?"

"I'm assuming that this is your attempt at being normal. I guess this is happening right now. Okay, then. I'll play along." Al then harnessed his inner actor, saying, "Mavis is unemployed! How come you don't give _her_ crap?"

"Mavis is employed, I'll have you know. She's the co-manager of the Hotel."

"She doesn't have any real responsibilities! You don't get mad at her because she's the favorite child, isn't she?"

"That's not true."

"It is so true."

They continued to act out mundane conversations until they finished their drinks.

* * *

Al sat cross-legged at the edge of the Hotel's swimming pool of green water. Johnny was inside, holding Dennis's hands as the child kicked forward with his face in the water. Dennis knew how to walk and fly, but he had yet to master swimming.

Sitting next to Al with her feet in the pool was Mavis, and unlike Al, she had her swimsuit on. Al had not packed anything for his stay at the Hotel, so he was wearing his normal clothes at the pool. Luckily, he cleaned them regularly and quickly. He also managed to get the rip in his jacket repaired.

"I could get used to this place," Al said. "Play all night, sleep all day, never work, eat as much as I want... You got lucky, Mavis."

"Hey, you're the lucky one," she argued. "You had freedom. You could've gone _anywhere_ you wanted."

"Yeah, but everywhere sucks," muttered Al.

"Now you're really sounding like Dad," Mavis chuckled. "Well, at least I did eventually get to travel around. Of course, that was after I met Johnny."

"Ah," said Al. "Listen, I was practically the first person to advocate inter-species relationships. But, why Johnny?"

"What, you don't like him?"

"Johnny's cool," admitted Al. "To an extent, that is. What about him makes you so happy?"

"Other than the fact that he's my Zing and I'm destined to be with him for the rest of my life or suffer depression for the rest of my life?"

"Alright, I see your point. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Yeah, he's not the brightest bulb in the bunch, I'll give you that. He makes up for it, though."

"Gross."

"I'm talking about his personality."

"Of course you are."

Mavis rolled her eyes. "Sure, I don't want to see him go. But, I'm afraid that if we somehow make him immortal, he won't be the same Johnny. You get what I'm saying? He might no longer be the man I love."

"Nothing can ever change that, Mavis."

"Aw, shucks," Mavis giggled. "My little brother is comforting me. That's out of character."

"You're right," Al admitted. "I'm actually an android who kidnapped the real Alucard and is impersonating him to gain information on potential victims."

Mavis laughed.

"We have a lot of catching up to do, don't we?" Al questioned.

"Just a tad bit," she confirmed. "I have to know: what's up with the music? You're obsessed with music."

"I'm obsessed with _good_ music," Al corrected. "Anyway, my mom was a big Broadway fan. She'd sneak into theaters as a bat. She'd keep singing songs at home, and I listened and liked it. One day, I found a radio."

"Did you _steal_ a radio?"

"I borrowed a radio. I listened for hours on end every night after I found it. There was so little to do for a monster back then. I memorized the lyrics to every song that played on the radio. Years later, they released the Walkman. It was amazing. I could choose what song I would listen to. That's when I got rather picky and critical of songs. Then, the iPod came out, and that was crazy. Soon, my phone played my music, and I've been happy ever since."

"You really love that thing," she observed.

"It's my most prized possession. For sentiment's sake, of course. I don't like it because I use it to text all the time or take selfies." Al shuddered at the thought of taking a selfie.

"Lucky we vampires can't take selfies," Mavis said with a smile. Her facial expressions become more serious. Her tone followed that.

"So," she said, "when this is all over, what're you going to do?"

"I'm going to go back to my Hotel room and sleep through the day," answered Al.

"I'm talking about this whole thing with the Hunters," Mavis clarified. "Are you going back to New York?"

"That's my plan," Al revealed.

"What about the Hotel?" Mavis asked. "What about Dad?"

"You want me to stay?"

"Of course. We're family, and family always - "

"Don't say it."

"What?"

"Don't say anything corny. Listen, Mavis. These past few days have probably been the greatest in my life, despite all that's happened. But, I have a responsibility back home. I can't just drop it all on a whim."

"I see," Mavis said, seeming very distant.

"Don't look so down," he requested. "We're vampires, Mavis. It'd be easy for us to move back and forth. I'll make sure to visit as often as I can, and if you come to my city, I'll show you the sights. Sound good?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd keep your distance," Mavis joked. "You're always stinking up the place. Maybe you should take a bath."

Mavis then used one hand to push Al into the pool, soaking his clothes. He was furious when his face emerged from the water.

"My phone was in my pocket!" Al exclaimed. "Does anybody have any rice on them?"

* * *

Al found Lily standing with her back to him when he entered his Hotel room. She stood in the middle of the room, facing the bed. He noted that she only had one wing attached to her back. Al quickly closed the door behind him and locked it. He decided to play along with her instead of calling for immediate aid.

"Hello, handsome," she said, turning around to look at Al.

Al glared at her silently.

"Not much to say, huh? I can't blame you. You knew that you'd see me sooner or later."

"What do you want, Lily?" Al asked, passive-aggressively. "Assuming that _is_ your real name."

"Oh, it is," she confirmed. She began to wander around the room, and he stepped deeper inside. He made sure that he was keeping his eyes on her.

"You see, Al, my superior and I were getting concerned," she started.

"You don't need to be concerned about anything," Al assured. "I'll get what you want."

"Really? We could've gotten what we wanted this morning, but you kind of stopped that from happening. Think about what you did tonight. Drinking with Dracula? Pool time with Mavis? Have you forgotten why you're here?"

Lily pulled something from under Al's bed and tossed it at Al. He grabbed it with both hands and looked down at it. He was holding a smooth black mask with a hole broken over part of it where it covered an eye. It was the mask of the man who attempted to kidnap Drac those few nights ago.

" _I'm_ here to remind you why _you're_ here," Lily said. "You work for us, remember?

 **To be continued in the next chapter**


	14. Alucard Unveiled

**Alucard Unveiled**

Al looked down at the broken mask in his hands. He remembered the night he wore it: he tried to kidnap Drac, but Mavis stopped him and saw his eye. She was suspicious of him ever since until recently. Little did she know that she was right all along.

"Let me make this clear," Al angrily said as he stepped forward and pressed his finger against Lily's chest. "I am not one of you. I will _never_ be one of you."

"Fine by me," Lily admitted. "It doesn't change the fact that we own you, Al."

"No one owns me."

"Let me rephrase that. It doesn't change the fact that we own your _mother_."

Al took his finger off of Lily's chest and turned around. He clenched his fist very tightly, digging his fingernails into his skin.

"You are incredibly stupid, Al," Lily insulted. "You knew the consequences of - well - doing your job terribly."

"Is she alive?" he asked.

"Of course," she answered. "We know better than to kill off our only leverage over you. You've made more trouble than you're worth, however. You failed to kidnap the Count yourself. You stopped Mr. Gill from killing the human and getting another vampire. You stopped me and our minotaur friend from getting a single vampire. Do you have any idea what you're doing to your mother?"

Lily tossed him her phone and he grabbed it in midair. On it was a video that was in the middle of playing.

The location of the video was unclear, but it was outdoors. The sun was out. Lucine was laying on her back against a wooden board, and her hands and feet were chained up. She winced and cried as the sun burned her skin. It was torture to the highest degree.

Al nearly crushed the phone in his hands. Lily managed to yank it away from him.

"The deal was that she wouldn't get hurt!" He angrily yelled as he stepped closer to Lily in an attempt to intimidate her.

"No, the deal was that she wouldn't get hurt as long as you played your part well, and you're not."

"I _am_ playing my part. You knew what I was trying to do after Mavis stopped me from kidnapping Dracula. You knew that I was trying to gain their trust."

"Might I add that I gained yours very quickly."

"Shut up, Lily. Your boss mentioned that he had eyes and ears everywhere. I should've known it was you. If your only job was to keep an eye on me, what was the point of getting close to me?"

"You would be surprised how boring basic spying is. I had to make sure that I could keep my eye on you without looking suspicious, and I needed to make sure you weren't hiding anything. You showed me _everything_." She smirked at the end of her comment.

"Whatever. I told you guys that I was going to do it _my_ way, and you still sent the minotaur and reptile."

"We needed results, and we needed them quickly," Lily reminded. "You were taking way too long with what should've been a really simple job: kidnap a member of Dracula's family. The job wasn't to watch a movie with them. The job wasn't to have a pool party with them. Why do you care so much about them if you knew you had to turn your back on them in the end anyway?"

Al realized that Lily didn't know that he was Drac's son. Despite all of the deception Al used on Drac and Mavis, his reaction towards being Drac's son was genuine. He truly believed that Drac was his father, and that only made it hurt more to betray him.

However, he didn't trust Lily with that information. If he revealed himself to them too soon, there was no guarantee that his mother would be safe. On the other hand, if he kept on playing the role of an innocent, then the Hunters would distrust Al more and more, and eventually they'll forget about him and kill his mother.

"These people don't deserve what the Hunters want to do to them. No one does."

"Don't try to look high and mighty, Al. No, you're a bad guy now. Just like me. Your noble intentions are irrelevant."

"If you're here for an update, I'll give it to you," Al said. "Give me a few hours, and I'll get you what you want."

He decided that he would reveal himself to them as Drac's son. That way, they could end their crusade against the Hotel and simply use Al for whatever purpose they needed him. Even after being forcibly coerced into working for the Hunters, they did not tell him anything about themselves, and Al hated that.

"Actually, we won't have to wait that long," Lily said. "My boss is now really flexible with his requirement. He needs a prime vampire, Al. It makes no difference to him if the prime vampire is related to Drac or not."

 _Perfect_ , Al thought.

"You want me to give myself up in the place of someone else," Al said. He was planning on doing so anyway, so things were working out well.

"Exactly," Lily said.

"But what about my mother?"

"Your life for your mother's. Sound fair?"

"I want to see her go free before I turn myself in," Al bargained.

"That can be arranged. You know where we're keeping her, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, then I don't have to bother going through the trouble of chaining you up and dragging you along with me," Lily stated, smiling. "Come to Paris. When you get there, we'll find you and we'll let her go."

"Then we have an agreement," Al finalized. "Just give me a few hours to say my goodbyes."

"Again with your goddamn bleeding heart," Lily muttered. "You're betraying these people! Why bother giving them courtesy of any kind? Besides, don't you think leaving randomly will leave them suspicious?"

"Fine, fine," Al said. "I get the point. See you in Paris."

"Remember, Al, if we don't see you there, we'll keep on trying to snatch someone from the Hotel. This is all on you."

He didn't know how she would be able to leave without flying away on her wings, but he watched as she jumped out of the window. He quickly put her travel method out of his mind. There were many pressing matters he had to worry about.

He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. His mother was being tortured. He could no longer spend anymore time with his long, lost family. Finally, he would have to sacrifice himself to the Hunters.

The sound of an exhale outside of his room caught his attention. Al managed to catch it with his enhanced hearing. Quickly, he ran over to his Hotel room door and opened it. Standing in the doorway was Johnny looking very surprised.

"Johnny," Al said.

"I have to go," Johnny replied, briskly turning away.

With no options left, Al grabbed Johnny by the collar of his shirt and pulled him inside of the room. Using telekinesis, he shut the door behind him. Johnny stumbled onto the floor but quickly turned around to face Al.

"What're you going to do now, Al?" Johnny asked.

"How much did you hear?"

"I heard all of it," answered Johnny. "You... You're a Hunter! You've been a Hunter this whole time."

"No," denied Al.

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not!"

"How am I supposed to trust you?"

"You can't," admitted Al. "You don't... You don't understand. I've made some really bad decisions recently, Johnny. Give me a chance to explain myself."

"You're not going to kill me to silence me?"

"No," Al answered.

"Then talk."

* * *

 **There wasn't much I lied to you about. But, there is one thing. Remember when I told you about how the Hunters killed my mother? Well, things didn't really happen the way I said they happened.**

A few days earlier...

Grendel, the Hunter leader's right hand man, looked down at Al with his silver sword in hand. Al clenched his teeth together as he suffered through the pain of having his body slashed by a sword. Yards behind Al was the burning home of Lucine and Al. Yards behind Grendel was the leader of the Hunters as well as Lucine and many masked Hunters.

Al failed miserably when he tried to save his mother from their grasps. Grendel was a formidable opponent, and he managed to easily subdue Al with the swing of a sword.

"This is what passes for a vigilante," Grendel muttered. "Pathetic. He's weak, boss. We don't need him."

"He's stronger than any of us," the boss announced. "He's just never faced something like this before."

"Let him go!" Lucine pleaded.

"All in due time," the leader assured.

"You better kill me before I get back up and kick your asses," threatened Al.

"This one has heart," observed the leader. "I like it. Hell, I like him better than you, Grendel. Give him his space."

Grendel barked in anger. He then backtracked to the rest of his colleagues plus Lucine.

"Alucard, we're not here to kill you," the Hunter leader revealed. "We've heard of your exploits - and I've seen some of them first hand - and I'm impressed. You would be a very valuable asset to us."

"You're them, aren't you?" Al asked as he got up, clutching his chest. "You're the bastards responsible for the kidnappings."

"Well, no need to be so mean about it. But, yes," said the leader.

"You don't want me as your enemy," warned Al.

"And you don't want us as yours," the leader replied. "Look around, Alucard. We outnumber you. You took quite an attack from my colleague, here. We have your mother. If you honestly believe that there's anything you can do against us, then you truly are an idiot, and we have no use for idiots. That means we don't have use for an idiot's mother."

Grendel raised his sword up over Lucine - who had her wrists chained together. As he swung down, Al screamed for him to stop, and Grendel obliged.

"I get it!" Al insisted. "I'll do what you want. Just let her go."

"Yes, you will do what we want," smugly said the leader. "Let me preface this by saying that we don't _need_ you for this job. We have plenty of capable monsters who can do this. However, I know none who can do it competently. That's where you come in."

"Don't do it, Al," Lucine begged. "Whatever it is, don't do it."

"This is to make sure you're safe, Ma," replied Al.

The leader motioned for Al to come closer, and Al reluctantly took a few steps forward.

"Have you ever been to Hotel Transylvania, my boy?" The leader asked. "If not, well, here's your chance. You're familiar with the manager there, I'm sure. I need you to kidnap Dracula or a member of Dracula's family. Simple as that."

"Why do you need Dracula?"

"That shouldn't really concern you, should it?"

"I'm no criminal," reminded Al. Obviously, he very much did not want to do anything for the Hunters. Unfortunately, his hands were tied. There was no clever way out for him.

"It's no problem for us if your pride is more important to you than your mother's life. If you refuse, we'll kill her, then we'll kill you. Then, we'll find someone else to do the job anyway. We'll get what we want anyway. Nothing will change except that there's going to be two dead vampires if you refuse. I'd very much like to avoid that. Wouldn't you?"

"You just scream sympathy," sarcastically stated Al.

"What's it going to be, Alucard?"

"I don't have much of a choice here," muttered Al.

"I'll take that as a yes," the leader stated.

"She goes free," Al ordered.

"Of course. _After_ you complete your mission, that is."

"How do I know that she'll be alive throughout all of this?"

"You won't," admitted the leader. "But you're trading one of Dracula's family or Dracula himself for your mother. It's in our best interest to keep her alive. Keep in mind, however, that if you compromise us, if you seek help, if you forget your mission, we will know, and your mother will suffer. We have eyes and ears everywhere."

Al wanted to object. He wanted to fight every single person around him to save his mother. However, he knew that he couldn't win that. He had no choice but to be their puppet.

"I understand..." angrily said Al. "I do it _my_ way, though. Don't try to interfere."

"Know that I'm a very impatient person," the leader said. "I may get sick of your antics and send in my own men to do the job. Should they do the job before you, well... You know what that means."

One by one, the masked Hunters around the leader transformed into bats and flew away. Grendel smacked Lucine's head and knocked her unconscious. Al prepared to lunge at him in anger, but the monster pointed his sword at Al as a warning.

"When I have the person," Al asked, turning his attention away from Grendel, "where do I bring them?"

"Paris, Alucard," answered the leader. "That's in France, if you don't know. When you get there with the vampire, we'll find you. Oh, and Hotel Transylvania is fairly far away from here. I suggest you get going immediately when you wake up."

Al was confused, and asked, "When I wake up?"

A Hunter appeared behind him and smacked him hard in the back of the head. Al was out cold.

* * *

Present day

"When I woke up, I found a suit and a mask laying on the ground next to me," Al told Johnny. "I flew over to the Hotel as soon as I could. Silver chains weren't hard to find. I didn't care about anyone else but my mother. That's why it was so easy for me to try to kidnap Drac."

"But Mavis stopped you," Johnny recalled.

Al nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't you try again?"

"I expected that the Hotel's security would be a lot tougher," Al answered. "I doubted that I could even get within one-hundred feet of Drac to kidnap him. So, I had a new plan."

"Pretend to be a guest at the Hotel and gain our trust," muttered Johnny.

"It was working for the most part," said Al. "Your wife was smart not to trust me."

"Why are you even telling me this?" Johnny asked. "You were against us this whole time. Hell, I'd be an idiot to believe a single word you're saying."

"I was never against you, Johnny!" Al barked. "I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted to save my mother, and that meant I had to do some really messed up things. Do you think I was comfortable around you guys knowing what I had to do? Do you think I was able to sleep at day?"

Johnny stayed silent, looking at Al in disbelief, betrayal, and sadness. He genuinely liked Al. Now, he was uncomfortable to be in the same room.

"So what now, Alucard?" Johnny asked. "If that _is_ your real name."

"It is," confirmed Al. "Now, I'm going to leave the Hotel. I'm going to turn myself in to the Hunters, and you're probably never going to see me again. It's for the best."

"Wait, you're turning yourself in? I thought your mission was for Drac."

"My mission was for Drac's bloodline. I'm a liar, but Drac isn't. At least, I don't think he is. The only one who knows for sure is my mother, but since she's a tad bit preoccupied, I have to settle for Drac's word. If I am his son, it's better that the Hunters have me than anyone else. Besides, they need a prime vampire now. They don't care if they're related to Drac. For sure, I'm a prime vampire."

"That's... incredibly selfless of you. But, you found out that you're Drac's son a while ago. Even if you didn't know that they only needed a prime vampire, why didn't you leave sooner?"

"I... I wanted to know what it felt like to have a family. A real family. God, this sounds corny, but what the hell? I knew that the longer I stayed, the harder it'd be. Lily managed to give a push out of the door, though. I'm leaving tonight, and I can't say any goodbyes."

"But, if you're not actually Drac's son..."

"It doesn't matter," said Al.

"Also, you mentioned Paris in your story," Johnny recalled. "Paris is the place you told Mavis where the Philosopher's Stone is. You wanted to bring her there to find it."

"There is no Philosopher's Stone, Johnny," Al said. "I made that part up. Paris is where the Hunters told me to go."

"You thought it'd be easier for you if she went to Paris on her own free will..."

Al had no justification. He had only contempt for himself. The person strong-armed into helping the Hunters was not the same person who fought crime in New York. The only thing that consoled him was that he had yet to do anything to directly benefit the Hunters.

"Are you going to tell them?" Al asked, looking down.

"They deserve to know, Al," answered Johnny. "They have to know."

"You're right. I know you're right. I just wish... I wish that things wouldn't end this way. Drac and Mavis deserve a son and brother better than me."

"Jesus, Al, stop getting me all emotional. How about I tell them _after_ you're long gone? That way, you don't have to see their reactions. Better yet, they don't knock the fangs out of you, although we all know you deserve it."

Al chuckled. "Sounds good. I was planning on leaving right after this, anyway. Well, I don't need to bother packing, so I suppose I'll be going now."

He turned away from Johnny and walked towards the large, open window in his room. It was the middle of the night so he would be able to travel a good bit before the sun came out.

Before he left, Al spoke to Johnny once more without looking back.

"Tell Mavis, Drac, Dennis... Tell all of them that I'm sorry it had to be this way. This is the only way they won't get hurt."

Al transformed into a bat and flew off.

* * *

Mavis was playing with Dennis on the floor of their living room. She had a toy truck in one hand and was hitting it against Dennis's own toy truck. She always found it underwhelming that monster trucks weren't actual monsters.

The sound of the door unlocking and opening made her smile.

"That you, Johnny?" she called.

"Yeah," he said, rather sadly. "Listen, Mavey, I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay, but you better make it quick. Dad wanted to have a meal with me and Al."

"Honey, that's not going to happen..."

Mavis raised an eyebrow. There was absolutely no reasonable reason that it shouldn't happen. She was very interested in what Johnny had to say at that point. Unfortunately, Johnny was having far too much trouble bringing himself to tell his family about the truth of Al. He thought of the worst-case scenarios of telling them: they wouldn't believe them or they'd be unreasonably devastated.

"Dennis, can you play somewhere else in the Hotel for a bit?" Johnny requested.

Dennis - his innocence made him ignorant towards there being anything wrong - dropped his toys and waddled off and out of the room. There were so many fun things for him to do at the Hotel.

Johnny sat down on the couch, and Mavis sat next to him. She managed to give him a warm smile. He put his hand on her knee, and she put her hand over his. However, she felt how tense he was.

"Before I tell you," Johnny started, "I just want you to know that the last thing I want to do is hurt you. I love you."

"I love you, too," Mavis said, squeezing his hand.

At that point, Johnny was sure that he had to go through with it.

"Remember when-"

"Wait," Mavis interrupted. "Do you hear that?"

Johnny was sort of relieved that he could delay the truth. He wasn't sure if he was ready for it himself.

"I don't hear anything."

As a vampire, Mavis had incredible hearing. She focused her hearing on the sound. It was a horrible, screeching noise that came from the outside. Immediately, she recognized it as the sound wailing banshees make.

"Banshees," Mavis announced.

"Well, what about them?"

"Dad recently hired some to act as alarms," Mavis said. "They're supposed to wail in the case of an emergency."

"Well, what kind of emergency?" Johnny asked.

Mavis stood up and off of the couch and approached the door out of their room. Without looking back, she answered, "Invasion."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**


	15. Invasion

**Invasion**

"Defend the guests no matter the cost," Drac ordered.

The gargoyles and knights that had assembled before him in the lobby nodded and dispersed. Panicked guests were running around the lobby, many of them eager to check out of the Hotel. Others were huddling together for protection. Barely any of them had seen what was really going on outside.

Mavis flew into the lobby and transformed next to her father. She said, "I'm guessing this isn't a false alarm."

"Hunters," Drac said. "At least, I think they're Hunters. I've never seen so many bad guys."

"How many?" Mavis asked.

"A few dozen," said Drac. "Vampires, skeletons, slimy blobs, gorgons, you name it."

He began to walk away from his position and Mavis followed. They talked as Drac comforted some of the frightened monsters as well as bark orders to staff members who were standing idly by as the Hotel was attacked.

"What did they do?" questioned Mavis.

"Some of the flying ones broke through random windows," Drac explained. "They... they took some of our guests."

Mavis stopped in her tracks and tried her best to overcome her emotions. She was distraught. She and her father had promised haven for the monsters but they couldn't provide it. Instead, the Hotel was what they promised it wouldn't become: a basket. Things would not be the same after the attack, that's for sure. All she wanted to do was to comfort the helpless guests.

"Where else are they?" Mavis asked.

"A bunch of those who couldn't fly are still on the bridge," answered Drac.

He used his clairvoyance to look outside of the Hotel lobby, past the courtyard, and focus on the bridge. As he said, Hotel gargoyles were flying over the bridge and throwing whatever blunt objects they had on hand at the dozen Hunters who were fist-fighting the armor-guards sent to defeat them. The Hunters looked like demonized forms of their normal monster counterparts. The collection of yetis, gorgons, werewolves, cyclopses, and more were grey with red eyes.

Drac was not confidant in his guards' abilities to defeat them. They were too easily scattered apart. The Hunters were too strong of opponents. He then focused on the flying vampires, harpies, and succubi flying around the Hotel. Many of them were being chased by witches and gargoyles. Some of them were knocking the witches and gargoyles down, and some of them were flying through windows.

Drac nearly screamed in anger when he saw another poor monster being pulled from his hotel room by a harpy and flown into the forest. When he heard Mavis utter, "Oh no," he knew that she was seeing the same thing.

"The sun will be up soon," Mavis reminded. "When it is, they'll have no choice to retreat."

"But until it does, we must protect our people," Drac agreed.

"Speaking of... Where's Dennis?"

"He's not with you?"

"No, he left the room earlier. I came down here to check out what was happening and look for him."

"I haven't seen him. You don't think..."

"I won't," she denied.

"Maybe Al knows something," suggested Drac. "You'd think a vigilante would be down here with us by now."

"He's probably fighting someone somewhere," said Mavis. "We need to-"

"Guys!" Johnny called.

Drac and Mavis turned their attention towards the human squeezing through the crowd of monsters and staff to reach them. He was panting and looked like he was ready to fall over any second.

"Did you see Dennis?" Mavis asked.

Johnny shook his head, saying, "I'm here about Al."

Before he would speak the truth about Alucard, he looked around. Innocent monsters were crying. Staff members were being stressed out. People went to Hotel Transylvania for a vacation, not a war. There was nothing but panic and desperation in the air. He knew that they all looked up to Drac and Mavis for guidance, and the two were doing their best to stay calm in the situation.

If Johnny were to tell them everything at that moment, things would fall apart. Drac and Mavis wouldn't be mentally prepared to protect the Hotel. He couldn't allow the Hotel to fall, no matter how much Drac and Mavis deserved to know the truth.

"He's... he went to take a fly not too long ago," Johnny lied. "He hasn't been back since. I don't think we can rely on him right now."

"Damn," Drac cursed.

"Al can take care of himself," Mavis said, having strong faith in her brother. "We need to focus on Dennis."

Drac slapped his own forehead and said, "I'm so foolish. We have knights scattered throughout the entire Hotel. Guard!"

A knight quickly found his place right next to Drac.

"Where is Denisovich?" Drac asked the guard.

Since all of the knights were connected, one could see what another saw. He searched for Dennis through the eyes of the other guards at the Hotel until he found Dennis standing side-by-side with Winnie outside of the Hotel near the swimming pool.

"He is in the pool area," the guard reported.

"He's exposed," Mavis said. "We need to get to him quick."

"Right," Drac said.

He and Mavis raced off with their super speed down an exit of the lobby and through a hall. Johnny groaned, jogging after them while panting furiously.

* * *

Dennis was in his bat form, flying around punching every enemy monster that approached him and Winnie.

"Get back inside," Dennis told Winnie.

There were only three enemies flying around the pool area: a harpy, a vampire, and a gargoyle. All were grey with red eyes. They were quite resilient. Even with Dennis's incredible vampire strength, he was only able to knock them down, not knock them out.

He caught glimpses of what was happening around the Hotel. Never before has he seen so much distress - not even when he fought Bela and the bat cronies. For a child, there was a lot to take in. He wasn't sure what was going to happen anymore.

His thought distracted him. All three of his assailants charged at him at once in the air. Before he knew it, he was knocked down on the ground beside the green water of the pool. Winnie rushed over to him on all fours. She looked up at the three Hunters and bared her fangs.

"Does this child have the blood of Dracula?" asked the harpy.

"It doesn't matter," the vampire replied.

"We take him anyway," said the gargoyle.

The three landed on the ground and slowly walked to Dennis. Winnie growled and jumped at them, opening her mouth, but she was smacked away rather quickly. With a whimper, she was sent into the pool where she sank.

Before any of the Hunters could lay a hand on Dennis, they were all knocked to the side. Dracula and Mavis stood over Dennis with their fists raised to protect the child.

Mavis heard Winnie in the pool. Immediately, she dived into the water and swam after Winnie. It didn't take long for her to submerge with Winnie in her arms, gasping for air. Together, they swam towards the edge of the pool and pulled themselves out.

"What're you guys doing out here?" Drac asked.

"I saw Winnie outside," Dennis answered as he slowly got up. "I had to save her."

"My Zing..." Winnie said, looking at Dennis with awe.

"Admirable, Denisovich," complimented Drac. "You should've asked for help."

"Never again, Dennis," Mavis lectured. "Never try to be a hero like this."

"But, Uncle Al-"

"I don't care what Al does," retorted Mavis. "You're just a kid. Are we clear?"

"Yes, mommy..."

"We should finish this lecture inside," said Drac. "We're too exposed out here."

Mavis nodded in agreement. She picked Winnie up and held her in her arms, and Drac picked Dennis up and did the same. Father and daughter raced back into the Hotel in a blur. They passed Johnny on their way in. The human groaned as he changed directions and jogged after them.

* * *

Al - who was already on his way to Paris - heard the conflict at the Hotel as he flew away from it. As a bat, he flew as quickly as he could back to the Hotel, hoping he would get there before sunrise. Luckily, he still had plenty of time.

He landed on the cliff overlooking the Hotel and used his clairvoyance to scan the invasion that was happening.

He felt betrayed. He wanted to turn himself in so that the Hunters would have what they wanted and not commit the action they were committing. Was there even a point in turning himself in if they were going to go back on their word anyways?

"No," muttered Al.

"Truth be told, I wasn't expecting this," said the voice of Lily.

Al jerked himself around and saw Lily standing a few feet away from him, looking at the Hotel exterior with a frown and her hands on her hips.

"This wasn't the deal," Al reminded.

"You don't make deals with me," asserted Lily. "It's my boss you need to talk to. He didn't tell me about this, but it's not unexpected."

Al lunged at Lily and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"What was his plan?" He angrily asked. "Have me turn myself in and then attack anyway?"

"As I said before, he's an impatient man," Lily said. "You didn't turn yourself in fast enough."

"That's ridiculous," said Al. "I left right after you gave me the offer."

"Then it seems this attack was inevitable," Lily assumed.

"Don't try to play the dumb," Al ordered. "You knew this would happen!"

"I didn't." Lily defended herself. "Trust me, I'm a little bit upset at this. He made me go through all that trouble to sneak into your room to tell you what's what, and it turns out I didn't need to bother. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Of course," Lily smacked her forehead. "It's so obvious and so simple. He just wanted you out of the way to make this attack easier. Why couldn't I see that?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Al stated. "I'm going down there."

He turned to jump and fly off of the cliff, but Lily chased after him. Before his feet left the cliff, she grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him back. Al rolled on the grass until he stopped himself by grabbing onto the ground.

"Sorry Al," Lily said. He looked up at her as she raised her fists and took a battle pose. "My boss wanted you out of the way, and I intend to keep you that way."

Gritting his teeth, Al stood up and cracked his knuckles. He then put his earbuds in and played a random song.

He heard Elton John's _Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting_ start playing and smiled. He nodded along to the fast-paced rhythm. There was no other song which was as perfect for a fight.

"You that cocky?" Lily asked. She knew he was fond of the music, but this was something to be taken seriously. She felt as if he was brushing her off.

"You have no idea," replied Al.

* * *

"Dennis, you need to go with Winnie to her brothers," Mavis said. "If you want to help, you have to protect them. Stay inside the Hotel."

"What about you?" Dennis asked.

"Papa Drac and I are going to help out here," she answered. "Daddy will go with you... Where is Johnny?"

Panting, Johnny arrived next to the group. He was almost dying from the long runs he was doing.

"Where have you been?" Drac asked.

"That's mean, Drac," said Johnny.

"Johnny, go with Dennis," Mavis said. "Keep an eye on him."

"I will," said Johnny, saluting.

"I was talking to Dennis," joked Mavis.

After Mavis kissed Dennis on the nose, he flew off with Winnie in tow. She then looked at her husband, grabbed him by the back of his head, and pulled him in for a kiss. She held on for as long as she could until Drac literally pulled them apart.

"That's enough, you two," said Drac, clearly uncomfortable.

"Good luck," he whispered.

"I'll see you later," she promised.

With one last look of his wife, Johnny followed Dennis out of the lobby.

Mavis had never felt more worried in her life. She feared for her son and husband. She feared that she might never see them again. The Hunters have ruined her peaceful life, and she was determined to have them pay for it.

"I'll help out on the bridge," suggested Drac. "You should fly around-"

"And knock those bastards out of the sky," she finished.

They hugged each other for luck, transformed into bats, and flew separate directions.

* * *

Lily was quite the offensive fighter. She used her hands and feet in a flurry of attacks on Al. She tried to aim where he was vulnerable - where his arms weren't protecting - but he was too quick to get hit. He blocked every attack she threw at him with his hands, elbows, and forearms.

"Give up," Lily commanded.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted that offer," Al said. "I knew things were too easy."

"Give this up, and your mother may live," Lily said.

Al paused for a second. He forgot about his mother. He no longer was guaranteed her safety. If the Hunters were to attack the Hotel to take the blood of Dracula anyway, then what purpose would there be to keep Lucine alive?

However, there was a good possibility that she was already dead. Although he didn't want to accept it, he shouldn't be surprised. It was his responsibility to continue to protect the monsters if that was the case. He would no longer be affiliated with the Hunters. He confirmed to himself that they were his indisputable enemies.

Unfortunately, during his thinking, Lily managed a good jab to his stomach. She attempted to uppercut his face, but he grabbed her fist and threw it aside. She managed to catch herself, but Al had recovered. It was Al's turn to get offensive.

Al threw a punch at Lily. She used her hands to grab his forearm and yanked it to the side, making his fist go off-target. With him vulnerable, she kneed him in the crotch. Wincing and grabbing his privates, he staggered backwards.

She jump-kicked him straight in the chest, sending him flying backwards until he hit a tree. Some leaves fell off of the branches when he collided with the trunk. He rubbed his head as he stood up and leaned against the tree.

Lily ran right towards Al with her fist beside her head. Before she could punch him in the face, he rolled out of the way. Her fist hit the bark and broke into the trunk. The succubus grunted in pain as she tried to yank her fist out of the tree. More leaves fell as she struggled.

Al laughed and said, "Looks like your pull-out game isn't as strong as mine!"

He grabbed her by the back of her head and pushed into against the trunk. Her eyes closed and her body went limp. She slumped down onto the ground with her hand still stuck in the tree.

Panting, Al turned away from the tree and walked toward the edge of the cliff. He wanted to catch his breath before he began to fly over to the Hotel. However, he sensed and heard the sound of footprints approaching him from behind.

"We're not done yet!" Lily insisted. She had already recovered and removed her hand from its trap.

Al groaned as he stepped to the side and held his foot out in front of him a second before Lily reached him. She failed to be defensive and predict his move. She ran right past him, tripping on his ankle. Unable to catch herself, she fell off of the cliff.

Peeking over the edge, Al watched Lily as she descended quickly. She tried her best to fly by flapping her one remaining wing.

"Damn you, Alucard!" She screamed as she plummeted into the water hundreds of feet below.

* * *

Mavis flew next to a harpy about to break through a Hotel window. She grabbed the harpy by the neck and slammed it against the stone wall beside the window. The bird-creature cried and started descending. She found comfort in the fact that the fall wouldn't kill them.

She almost felt bad for hurting the monsters. If Mr. Gill from earlier was any indication, all of these monsters were once good and uncorrupted. The Hunters had repurposed them - somehow - for dirty work. Mavis made sure to not get overzealous with the violence.

She flew around the Hotel for a few more rounds. She helped the Hotel's gargoyles and witches whenever they had trouble with an enemy. She took a few down on her own. It got to the point when there were few flying Hunters attempting to break into the Hotel through the air. Soon, they ceased that method of attack.

Mavis heard a voice call, "Mavis!" Realizing it came from the courtyard, she flew down to see what was up.

Fist-fighting the land Hunters who got past the bridge was Drac and Frank. They were aided by a good number of armor-guards with weapons. However, Drac gave them orders to not kill any Hunters. He was sure that there was still good in them somewhere.

Mavis landed in the courtyard beside her father like a superhero. She immediately began to repel any enemies that were getting too close.

"Skies are clear," Mavis announced. She kicked a cyclops away and sent him falling on top of a few evil gremlins.

"It doesn't matter," insisted Drac. "Once that minotaur gets here, we'll lose the courtyard."

He pointed to the large minotaur in the distance, approaching from the opposite end of the bridge. It was the same one who attacked them at the Hotel earlier. The same one they couldn't defeat.

"Sun's almost up," reminded Mavis. "We just need to hold off until then, and then they'll retreat."

"Yes, but so must we," said Drac. "We have no guarantee they'll leave, either. We don't have a clue how many of them could be hiding in the forest."

"Then there's only one way to stop them from coming," Mavis said.

Drac nodded. At the same time, they said, "We need to destroy the bridge."

"I need a witch!" Drac announced.

Immediately, a green woman on a broomstick flew in over Drac and asked, "What do you need, sir?"

"Start Operation: Waterfall," commanded Drac.

"Are you sure?" The witch asked.

"Do it quickly!"

"Sir, the bombs are in the Hotel's storage," the witch reminded. "It will take a little time to retrieve and prepare them."

"Do what you must," said Drac.

The witch flew away to tell the rest of the staff the plan.

"The big guy will be past the bridge in no time," Mavis said.

"So we have to keep it busy," said Drac. "Frank! Mavis and I are needed elsewhere. Can you get these guys yourself?"

"No problem," said Frank, grabbing his own head and throwing it like a bowling ball to knock a few Hunters on the ground.

Drac and Mavis flew towards the minotaur at top speed over the bridge. All of the known ground forces had already passed the bridge, making it practically empty. That meant a good amount of room for Mavis and Drac to face the large beast.

"Sorry, we're booked!" Drac exclaimed as he punched the minotaur's face. "I'm afraid you can't check in."

Mavis was in bat-form, flying around the minotaur and making small attacks. She was sure they were stinging it. The minotaur waved its hands whenever possible to keep Mavis away.

Despite their best efforts, the beast didn't stop progressing through the bridge. It made slow footsteps - or rather hoof-steps. It clearly knew that Mavis and Drac weren't the priority.

When it made it halfway through the bridge, Drac heard a witch cry, "The bombs are ready!"

Mavis and Drac looked at the four witches floating above the bridge, looking down at the two vampires and minotaur. The witches each had a glass bottle of bubbling, green liquid. The bottles - of course - were explosives. Very potent explosives. They were indiscriminately deadly.

"Perfect!" Drac exclaimed. "Blow the bridge and this beast!"

Unfortunately, at that moment, the minotaur grabbed Drac as they were distracted. It reached for Mavis, but she managed to fly away and take her place next to the witches. She prepared to lunge at the minotaur, but it squeezed Drac in its hand. The vampire howled in pain.

"Blow this bridge and he dies with me!" The minotaur threatened. "Or, let me walk through, and I'll let him go."

"No," objected Drac. "Blow the bridge... and me with it."

"Never," argued Mavis. "We'll get you out."

"Mavis..." Drac said. "You know that there's nothing you can do. You can't defeat him... I love you. I built this Hotel for you, and I won't let you or it fall."

Mavis and Drac gave each other one last look. Both had eyes that were watering, and both knew what they had to do in order to protect their Hotel. If the minotaur made it through, all was lost. It was too strong an enemy. Mavis was not going to let her father go down with the beast, but she knew what he wanted.

Mavis nodded at her father and smiled. She gave him her approval. Drac mouthed words which Mavis couldn't hear. However, she knew the words to be, "I love you."

"Blow this bridge!" Drac ordered. "On the beast!"

"Sir!" One of the witches exclaimed. "You'll die!"

"As owner of the Hotel," Drac started, "my last command is that you blow the bridge. Mavis is your manager now! Treat her with the same respect you treated me with."

"There's got to be another way..." Mavis murmured.

Drac saw the movement of her lips and knew what she said. "There's not," he said. "Now, blow it up!"

"No!" The minotaur objected.

Everything that happened next happened very quickly. The witches shook the explosive bottles and threw them at the minotaur and the bridge below him. Drac closed his eyes and so did Mavis. She didn't want to see the death of her father.

However, as the bottles flew towards the minotaur, Johnny came rushing down the bridge with a spear in hand. It was the same spear the Hotel guards used. He was fairly close to the minotaur too. He could've thrown the spear, but there was a good chance he would miss. He was never an accurate thrower.

When the explosive bottles got fairly close to the bridge, Johnny stabbed the minotaur in the gut with the spear. It was too busy looking at the explosives to notice Johnny. When the blade pierced its skin, it let go of Drac in pain. Drac - who had his eyes closed - felt the grip on him loosen. He hadn't felt the pain of the explosion, so he reckoned he could escape.

Drac slipped from the grip of the minotaur and flew upward to avoid the explosion. It was too late for him or Mavis to see Johnny below the beast. When they did, they both screamed, "No!" Both of them tried to swoop in to save Johnny from the blast, but they were too late. The four explosive bottles erupted upon impact. A green, fiery explosion erupted on the bridge. The monsters fighting from the courtyard all stopped and looked over at the source of the thunderous sound.

A green, fiery explosion sent Drac, Mavis, and the witches flying back. The minotaur and Johnny were at the center of it. At the corner of their eyes, they saw Al flying towards the two on the bridge. They lost control of their orientation from the heavy blast and thrown far back so they weren't sure what was happening for a good few seconds. They heard ringing in their ears.

The status of the bridge was unknown. There was nothing but smoke. However, they saw the minotaur falling under the bridge, swinging its arms and roaring. Rubble fell above him and landed on top of him when he crashed into the water. The explosions didn't seem to be able to kill him. However, he was definitely out of the picture. However, they couldn't see Johnny.

"Johnny!" Mavis called.

She, Drac, and the witches watched the smoke from the bridge clear. When most of it was gone, she flew in and landed on the ground. Drac followed her. They both faced the direction where they suspected Johnny to be.

The smoke finally cleared. There was a large break in the bridge, about twenty feet long.

Al stood at the edge of the broken bridge. His eyes were closed, his teeth were clenched, and he wanted to scream. He was doing his best to keep his anger in check. In his arms was Johnny's limp body.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

 **End of Act II: Bastard Blood**


	16. Duty

**Act III: Heroes**

 **Duty**

Mavis couldn't stop sobbing at Johnny's side. Once again, the human was in the Hotel infirmary. Surrounding him was a small group of people consisting of family members. Dennis was crawled up on the bed, hugging his father's body. The Hotel doctor was busy checking and testing Johnny beside the bed.

"This is minor, right?" Mavis asked. She tried her best to speak between sobs. "It's just like last time. It has to be like last time."

The doctor couldn't look at Mavis in the eyes. He took a glance at Johnny, closed his eyes, and sighed. "No, but I wish it were so. This isn't like last time. You said he was caught in the green explosion? That's deadly for monsters, and it's a miracle he survived... It's a miracle he's still alive."

Drac recalled the explosion. Johnny had sacrificed himself to ensure Drac's safety. That spoke volumes about their relationship. If only things would've ended better for Johnny.

They successfully managed to defend the Hotel, at least, but at a great cost. A handful of guests had been kidnapped by the Hunters during the invasion. Many were checking out after the invasion was stopped. Drac was sure that the lobby was packed to the walls with fleeing guests.

Many of the ground forces of the Hunters were captured. A few managed to escape, but the stragglers weren't a problem. Drac ordered that they all be kept inside the dungeons, and that was a very tight squeeze for each and every Hunter.

The Hunters weren't a large concern, however. Johnny's life was hanging by a thread.

"Give it to me straight, doc," said Al. "How bad is it?"

"I would prefer not to say in front of the child," the doctor said.

"I'll take care of him," offered Drac.

"No!" Dennis argued. "I have to help Daddy!"

"Honey," Mavis pleaded, "Daddy wouldn't want you to see him like this. Please, go out and distract yourself. Can you do that for us?"

Although reluctant, Dennis wiped his eyes and allowed himself to be picked up by Drac. The Count walked out of the room with Dennis in his arms. Both vampires looked back at their family once last time in grief before closing the door behind them.

"Doc?" Al asked.

"Is the lady okay with me being blunt?" The doctor asked.

"Yes," said Mavis.

"He's suffered severe burns, but the force of the explosion was what did the most damage," the doctor said. "Imagine being hit by a large hammer swung at an incredible speed. He should've died, but when you grabbed onto him and pulled him away from the source of the explosion, you weakened it's impact on him. You must've suffered some yourself."

"Don't worry about me," Al said.

"Of course," the doctor said. "Well, the explosion put him in this coma-like state. Comas usually aren't something to worry about, but his body is weak. I'm no expert on human anatomy, but I can infer based on my knowledge of monsters. His processes are slowed. He won't be able to naturally heal fast enough as is. We have no medication which can help him either. Soon, his body will shut down entirely. I... I don't have to tell you what that means."

"No," Mavis whispered. "There's got to be something we can do for him. There might be something we can find in the Hotel."

"There's no such thing," said the doctor. "Even If there was, it's more than likely said thing applies exclusively to monsters. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do for him here. I've done all I can. Sadly, it wasn't much, and it's not nearly enough."

"Human hospitals!" Mavis said. "There are a lot in Transylvania. We can fly him over to one so they can take care of him."

"His body is too fragile for transportation," the doctor said.

"Besides, it's too dangerous with the Hunters still out there," reminded Al.

"We can bring a human doctor here," suggested Mavis.

"That's a viable option," said the doctor. "But, I doubt they'd have anything that can help Johnny."

"Do you want us to just wait for him to die?!" Mavis angrily interrogated.

"Mavis..." Al called.

"Of course not!" denied the doctor. "We must think practically about this, however."

Mavis stood up and walked around the bed to stand face-to-face with the doctor. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and said, "My husband's life is on the line."

"I understand, but-"

"If he dies, that's on you! When it is, I'll make sure you pay for it."

"Mavis, stop," said Al.

"Don't give me excuses! Give me results!" Mavis's barking terrified the doctor. Her face became demented - like her father's often did when he got angry.

"That's enough!" Al ordered, grabbing Mavis by the shoulder and pulling her back. She smacked his hand away from her body and crossed her arms. Al motioned for the doctor to leave the room which he quickly obliged to.

Mavis went back to sitting down next to her husband, holding his hand. She listened in on his breathing and found that it was incredibly faint.

"I know you're upset," Al lectured, "but that doesn't give you the right to assault someone like that."

"You haven't loved like I've loved," Mavis lectured. She began to break down as she spoke. "You don't know how it feels to see someone you've pledged your life to about to lose theirs. Johnny changed my life. I don't know what I'd do without him. I promised to always protect him. I failed him, Al."

She stood up and ran towards her brother for her a hug. She wept on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her and patted her on the back.

"I get it," Al said. "Truly, I do."

Mavis believed that Al had lost his mother. Al knew this to be false, although his mother's life was most likely in grave danger seeing as how he had yet to deliver to the Hunters. The one good thing he had going for him was that Lily was the only one who knew that he was no longer a puppet of the Hunters, and the last time he saw her, she was plummeting down a cliff.

"We have to do something," Mavis said.

"You heard the doctor: no medicine can help him," reminded Al.

He didn't want to lose Johnny any less than Mavis, but he was more practical about the matter. He didn't expect Johnny to survive.

Al wanted to curse himself to hell. In a way, it was his fault that Johnny was in such a state. Had Al only turned himself in earlier, it all could've been avoided. If Johnny were to die, then it was on Al. He was willing to accept that responsibility.

"Screw medicine," Mavis said. "We need magic."

"We shouldn't be chasing fairy tales," said Al.

"You told me about the Philosopher's Stone," Mavis recalled. "You said it was in Paris."

Al silently cursed. It was a lie that he told Mavis. When he was working for the Hunters, he tried to trick Mavis or Drac to go to Paris where they would be ambushed and captured by the Hunters. However, circumstances have obviously changed. It was in his best interest to keep Mavis from going to Paris at all costs.

"We can't drop everything and leave right now," Al lectured.

"I recall using that same argument a while ago," said Mavis.

"Let's say we go to Paris," Al suggested. "Its more than likely that Hunters are tracking us and will attack us on the way. Not only will we risk being captured, but we leave the Hotel vulnerable to another attack."

"We'll be quick. We'll beat all the Hunters."

"Even if we're invincible, once we get to Paris, we'll have no idea where to even start looking!"

"We're prime vampires with powers, Al," said Mavis. "It won't take us very long."

"What if it does? What if we're too late? What if Johnny dies while we're gone?"

"He won't!"

"He might! Look at him, Mavis. Could you live with yourself knowing that you weren't by his side when he goes?"

"I won't be able to live with myself knowing I didn't and couldn't do anything! You sound like you want him to die!"

"You _know_ that's not true."

"Then stop trying to throw away our options. A miracle isn't going to save him. We need to take it into our own hands, however dangerous it may be."

"Mavis, if we lose him, I can't lose you!"

Mavis took a step back. She forgot an important fact: Al was her brother. He cared for her well being more than she did. She was being very selfish. However, she would do whatever she had to do in order to save Johnny.

"Fine," she muttered. "You win. We'll just have to... wait for a miracle."

She left the room, not looking Al in the eye as she did. He sighed as she left, tired from the argument. Al walked towards Johnny's side and sat down on the chair Mavis used to sit in.

"This is all my fault," Al confessed. "Hell, you already knew that. I don't know how many apologies I'm going to have to make. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're a really fascinating specimen, Johnny. The first human that's come to Hotel Transylvania was a slacker who never stressed out before in his life and just stumbled upon the greatest discovery in the modern world. Might I add you married and had a child with Count Dracula's daughter. They'll write stories about you, my friend."

"Your story doesn't end there, though. You've survived in the darkest of times. You ran down a bridge - spear in hand - and freed Drac from the grasps of the strongest minotaur we've ever seen. You ran in despite the explosives being thrown at the bridge. You knew you'd get caught, but you ran in anyway. You never hesitated to sacrifice your own life for your family's."

"I wish I could've gone through with my sacrifice. You're a better man than I'll ever be, Johnny. My mother is probably dead, and that's on me. All of this is on me. This needs to stop. I need to stop it."

Al stood up from his chair. Despite the deal he made with the Hunters being most likely broken, he had to stop all of the horrors from happening again. They still needed a prime vampire, and Al was ready to give them one.

Looking down at Johnny, he said, "I... I don't know if you're going to make it. If I go through with this, _I_ probably won't make it. If that's the case, then see you on the other side."

* * *

Al wanted to talk to Mavis and Drac one more time before he left. He wasn't going to tell them his intention to leave because he feared that they wouldn't understand. He wanted nothing more than a nice, simple conversation with family.

He knocked on the door to Mavis and Johnnys room, calling Mavis out by name. Unfortunately, there was no answer from the inside.

"Hey, Mavis?" Al called again. He knocked even harder. There still was no answer.

He was convinced that she wasn't inside. The Hotel was big, and there were plenty of other places that she could've been. Walking away from the room, he approached the elevator where a knight was standing guard.

"Did you get what you came here for, sir?" The guard asked.

"No," Al answered. "Mavis isn't in her room."

"That's strange," said the guard. "I saw her enter the room not so long ago. There's no way she would've left without me knowing."

Al didn't stop for a second to think about how weird that was. He understood immediately what had happened. Using his vampire speed, he raced back to the door of Mavis's room. Focusing on his powers, he transformed into a wisp and slid under the door. When he was in the room, he transformed back.

As expected, Mavis was nowhere in the room. Dennis wasn't there either, but Al knew that he was out and about in the Hotel. The window was wide open, and the drapes were blowing into the room. He approached the window and used his clairvoyance to look out into Transylvania. Mavis was gone from his line of sight.

When he turned around, he saw a piece of paper taped against the door to enter the room. Al sped over to the paper and took it off of the door. He silently read it to himself.

 _I know that this is selfish of me, and I know it's dangerous for me. I can't stop trying to save him. I never will. By the time you read this letter, I'll be long gone. Take care of Johnny until I get back. I'm sorry, but don't worry. I'll be back soon. Love, Mavis._

Drac put the letter down on the table. He and Al were the only two monsters in the dining hall of the Hotel. Al finished drinking from his goblet of blood and took the letter from the table and folded it.

"She's not picking up her cell, either," said Al.

"What was she thinking?" Drac asked.

"I'm guessing that isn't the first time you've said that," muttered Al. "Anyway, she thinks what she's doing will help save Johnny."

"You know where she's going?" Drac asked.

"I told her about the Philosopher's Stone the last time Johnny was hurt," explained Al. "She brushed it off then, but she's going after it now. It's in Paris."

"Well, what are we waiting for? We need to help her save Johnny. Let's go!" Drac announced. He transformed into a bat, but before he could fly away, Al called him to stop. Confused, Drac transformed back to his normal form.

"Help her save Johnny?" Al asked.

"You said it yourself: she's looking for the Philosopher's Stone in Paris. The quicker we get there, the quicker we'll find the stone, and the quicker we'll save Johnny."

"Drac, she's wasting her time," Al revealed. "There is no Philosopher's Stone."

"But you told her yourself," Drac reminded. "What made you change your mind?"

Al realized that he was being incredibly inconsistent about himself in front of Drac. He wanted to come clean about it all like he did to Johnny, but they were incredibly vulnerable. Drac wouldn't be able to handle all of the information and defend his Hotel at the same time. Al decided to keep quiet and change his story.

"I did some more research," Al lied. "It's all a lie."

"Did you tell her that before she left?" Drac inquired.

"No," answered Al. "How the hell was I supposed to know that she was going to leave?"

Drac sighed. "Then all that matters now is getting Mavis home."

"I plan on doing that."

" _We_ plan on doing that. The Hunters are still out there-"

"Which is exactly why I can't let you go with me."

"Which is exactly why I won't let you go alone."

"Drac, someone needs to watch over the Hotel, and someone needs to watch over Johnny."

"There are plenty of people who can do that, son."

"I'm expendable, Drac. If something happens to you while we're out there-"

"I'm not asking for permission, Al. Remember who I am to you, and remember who Mavis is to me. She's just as much my family as she is yours. We're going after her together whether you like it or not. The quicker you accept that, the quicker we can be on our way."

Al cursed under his breath. He would be leading another prime vampire right towards the Hunters. Had he not made the decision about who's side he was on earlier, things would be going great for him. However, life just wasn't easy for Al.

* * *

"I'm leaving you guys in charge of the Hotel," Drac said to Frank, Wayne, and Griffin in the lobby.

"Wait, what?" Frank asked.

"No time to explain," said Al. "Off to Paris."

The two transformed into bats and flew out of the Hotel lobby, but Drac turned back when he heard Wayne calling out to him.

"What are you doing?" Wayne yelled.

"We're going after Mavis," explained Drac. "She could be in trouble. Watch over Denisovich."

With that, he left his friends in the emptying lobby. The night came not so long ago, so they would be able to cover a lot of ground before sunrise. They made sure to fly at their top speed.

"Don't tell me he just left us," Griffin pleaded.

"He just left us," Frank said.

"I don't know about you two, but I don't know the first thing about running a Hotel," added Wayne.

"It shouldn't be too hard, right?" Frank extended his arms. "Half of the Hotel guests have already checked out."

"There doesn't seem to be anyone coming to the front desk anytime soon," Griffin pointed out. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Let's raid Drac's closet and dress up like him," Wayne and Frank announced.

The three monsters scurried off to the elevator, disregarding the task that Drac had entrusted to them. Out of the elevator came Winnie, looking up at the three with a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong, honey?" Wayne asked, picking her up in his arms.

"Where are Al, Uncle Drac, and Dennis going?" Winnie asked.

"They're going to Paris to get Mavis," Griffin answered.

"Wait... did you say Dennis?" Frank asked.

Winnie nodded.

"He's not supposed to leave the Hotel," Wayne said. "Are you sure Dennis is with them?"

Winnie nodded again. "We saw Uncle Drac and Al fly away from the Hotel really quickly. Dennis said he had to help them and went after them. He was a lot slower than them, though, so I don't know if he caught up with them yet."

"Dennis is out there following them alone," summarized Frank. "This isn't good. He could be in danger. We have to call Drac or Al."

"They're transformed," reminded Griffin. "They won't pick up their phones until they get to Paris."

"This means we need to keep an eye on Dennis ourselves," Wayne said. "Prepare the hearse!"

"Wait, but who's going to look after the Hotel?" Griffin asked.

"You are," Frank answered, patting him on the back.

"No, no, no," Griffin said. "I am not staying here alone while you guys go out there and risk your lives! What kind of friend would I be if I don't help you when you need it? We'll stick together, we'll protect Dennis, we'll find Mavis, and we'll stop the Hunters once and for- They're already gone..."

Frank and Wayne had already left the lobby.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think.

I dropped the ball. I sincerely apologize for the month-long wait for this chapter. I don't really have any excuses for it. I'll do my best to work harder as I finish this story up.

In the next chapters, all will be revealed. You will learn who the leader of the Hunters is and what he wants.

Ciao.


	17. No More Lies

**No More Lies**

Mavis sprinted down one of the elaborately decorated halls of the Louvre. Paintings and displays of various historical artifacts lined the walls and surrounded her, but she didn't waste a second looking at them. She even passed da Vinci's Mona Lisa without batting an eye.

Having visited two museums earlier, Mavis found no luck. She saw nothing that resembled what the Philosopher's Stone was allegedly like. After each failed search, she would curse as she flew to the next museum. Time was running out for her. She had to find the Stone as quickly as possible, although Johnny could've already been dead for as far as she knew. It was unfortunate that her search would be in vain.

After having sped through the last corridor of the museum, Mavis found herself standing in the middle of it, looking out the window at the night sky. She screamed in frustration and threw a nearby marble statue onto the ground. It shattered at her feet.

"I'm stupid, stupid, stupid!" Mavis exclaimed. "Why'd I bother hoping I'd even find it?"

"There are about one-hundred-and-thirty museums in Paris," Al's voice said from behind her.

Mavis turned on her heel. Al and Drac stood side-by-side ten feet away from her.

"I guarantee that you won't find what you're looking for," Al finished.

Mavis started, " _You_ were the one who told me- "

"And I was wrong," said Al. "There is no Philosopher's Stone; there never was."

"We have to go home now, Mavey," Drac said.

"I'm not going back until I find a way to save Johnny," Mavis asserted. "You would do the same for Mom."

Drac prepared to protest, but he stopped himself. Mavis was right on that account. Drac would've flown to the ends of the earth if it meant that he could see his wife again.

"Mavis, I believe that _you_ believe in a way," Al started. "You didn't fly one-thousand miles from home because you're crazy."

"Miles?" Drac asked.

"Right," muttered Al. "Metric system."

"Anyway, Mavis, we didn't fly all this way because we wanted to stop you," Drac said. "If anything, we want to help you. But, if we did, we'd be wasting our time. There's an enemy out there, and the longer we're exposed, the worse it'll be for us."

"We can't help Johnny," Al said. "I'm sorry, but we need to be with him right now. We need to go home."

"Not yet!" Dennis's voice exclaimed from the ceiling. Flying down from the darkness was Dennis in his tiny bat form. He transformed back and landed next to his mother, hugging her legs.

"Dennis?!" Al and Drac exclaimed at the same time.

"What are you doing away from home?" Drac angrily asked.

Mavis picked her son up. "You guys didn't bring him with you?"

"It's too dangerous for him," said Al. "The little runt followed us. Damn, I should've sensed it."

"I'm sorry," Dennis apologized. "I wanted to help Mommy. We can't go home yet!"

"Not you too," Al said. "Mavis, he'll listen to you. It's time for you to make your choice."

Mavis looked into Dennis's watery eyes, trying to match her thoughts with his. Sighing, she put her son back down onto the ground and faced her father and brother.

"Call me foolish," Mavis said. "Call me ignorant, call me thick-headed, call me impractical. I won't stop looking for the Philosopher's Stone or anything that will help. Take Dennis back home, and be with Johnny. I'll come back when I find something."

"Please, Mavis..." said a desperate Drac.

"You'd give everything for the people you love," Mavis stated. "I believe in that."

"You're being unbearably naive," Al insulted.

"I'm sorry, Al," apologized Mavis. "Why are you so adamant to stop me?"

"Because the Stone doesn't exist!" Al barked.

"How do you know?" Mavis asked.

"Because I made it up!" Al revealed.

Mavis, Drac, and Dennis widened their eyes with shock. Drac took a few steps away from Al, looking at him with confusion.

"Why would you make that up?" Drac asked.

"I'm sorry, but that's _my_ fault," said a nearby voice that was vaguely European. It was a voice that Al was rather familiar with.

"Something is odd," Al whispered. He looked around. "Have you noticed that there's no night-time security here at one of the world's most famous museums?"

"There's no way there's no security," Drac said.

"That means something happened to them," concluded Mavis.

They turned to the end of the hall where the voice came from. Approaching them was a man Al was familiar with. He was middle-aged with a clean shaven face, a large nose, a black suit, and a fedora. Every step he took echoed throughout the hall. He had his arms behind his back.

"Jackal," Al announced.

" _Doctor_ Jackal," he replied.

"You're a long way away from Manhattan," said Al.

"So are you," Jackal said. "We both have purpose here, however."

"Al, who is this?" Mavis asked.

"His name is Jackal," explained Al. "He helps me out in Manhattan when I do what I do as The Fang."

"So he's a friend of yours," Drac summarized.

"Yes," answered Al. "At least, he _was_."

"Was?" Drac asked.

"I'm having my doubts," Al said.

"I'll admit, we had our doubts as well," Jackal revealed. He added a more intimidating tone to his voice.

"We?" Al asked.

"We knew you too well," continued Jackal. "We shouldn't have trusted you, yet we did. These past few days have been an emotional rollercoaster, I admit. An on-and-off cycle of trusting you to do your job and not trusting you. I'm glad to see that you delivered."

"Son of a bitch," Al muttered. He knew exactly what was happening. He never meant for it to culminate into that situation.

"What's he talking about, Al?" Mavis asked.

"Tell her, Alucard," Jackal ordered. "Tell them all who you really are!"

Al lunged at Jackal with his fist raised. Although Al was quick, somehow, Jackal foresaw the attack. He tripped Al just as Al reached him, sending the vampire rolling back and knocking over a vase and the cabinet the vase was in.

Drac prepared to attack Jackal, but Mavis grabbed her father by the forearm. She knew that Al attacked first, and Jackal had yet to do anything to warrant a fight. She wanted to hear what he had to say.

"What do you know?" Mavis asked.

"Mavis..." Al called.

"Hardly my secret to tell," asserted Jackal. "Alucard, tell them why they're here. I'm giving you the luxury of doing this yourself. If you don't take it, then I will."

"You want to know about me?" Al asked, getting up. "What about you?! I know who you are."

"You do, and you don't," Jackal promised. "I'll reveal all in due time, but right now, it's your turn."

"Tell me, Al," Mavis demanded. "We deserve to know."

"You won't be able to handle the truth, trust me," Al said.

"Try me. Just say it."

"If I do, things won't be the same."

"Al, what do we need to know?!"

"That Jackal can't be tru-"

"Just tell me!"

"I worked for them!" Al exclaimed. "You happy?"

"Them," said Drac. He tensed up. "The Hunters."

"Ye... Yes," confirmed Al. "They kidnapped my mother. She's not dead, but... They said they'd kill her if I didn't capture you all."

"Things got a little more complicated," Jackal elaborated. "Eventually, he settled with luring you all to Paris right here. He succeeded with flying colors, might I add."

Mavis and Drac scowled at Al while Dennis looked on sadly. Mavis was shaking with rage, and it took a lot of strength for her to keep herself from attacking Al.

"You lied to us this entire time," Drac announced. "You're not my son, are you?"

"I am," Al uneasily answered. "But I... I don't know."

Drac closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm not mad, Al. I understand where you're coming from if you did what you had to do to save your mother. I'm just... I'm so disappointed. I think that that may be worse."

Al said, "There's so much I have to explain to you guys. I promise I'll make this right."

"You're no longer relevant, I'm afraid," Jackal said. "So, you can save it."

"What part do you have in this madness?" Drac asked.

"Arguably the most important," revealed Jackal. "Because... I am the leader of the Hunters."

Drac immediately lunged at Jackal and grabbed him by the throat. He was easily able to lift Jackal off of the ground as he squeezed his hand tighter around the neck.

"You just made my life too easy," Drac threatened. "If what you say is true, then what's stopping me from draining the blood from your body and ending this once and for all?"

Drac felt his grip weaken on Jackal. Jackal's entire body began to vibrate, twitch, and jerk around. Gibberish began to run out from his mouth. The vampires watched Jackal's seizure-like experience with a mix of confusion and horror.

Jackal's skin turned a light-green color as he shook. His bone structure, most notably his back, began to change. He eventually shook himself free from Drac's grasp and landed on the floor on his feet.

"What the hell..." Drac muttered.

Jackal punched Drac in the chest, sending the vampire flying backwards and through displayed artifacts.

"What the hell are you?" Mavis asked.

"We're all monsters," Jackal said. His voice became deeper and he sported a cockney-British accent. "Haven't you ever heard of me?"

Mavis put Dennis down and attempted to punch Jackal. Jackal caught her hand in his fist and threw her against the wall.

"The name's Hyde," Jackal said.

"Hyde," said Mavis, getting up. "As in Jekyll and Hyde?"

"My other self was Jekyll, but you lot called him Jackal," Hyde stated. "See the resemblance?"

Mavis recalled the story of Jekyll and Hyde. Jekyll was a relatively kind-hearted scientist who would involuntarily transform into an a more wicked man named Hyde. However, in this case, Hyde seemed to be in complete control. He seemed able to transform into Jekyll at will to complete his own nefarious plans.

"You died in your story," Al pointed out.

"So does Dracula," Hyde reminded. "The humans don't necessarily have a great track record for historical accuracy."

Dennis launched himself upward with his fist pointed at Hyde's chin, but Hyde smacked Dennis away. Al tried to strike Hyde himself, but he was met with a knee to the gut. He was sent staggering backwards.

"Your little masquerade as Jackal," started Al, "was just a part of your master plan?"

"Yes," Hyde said. "I had to earn your trust, and I doubt you would trust someone as intimidating as me. As Jekyll, I could appear human and befriend you. It worked out well for me in the end."

"You're too arrogant for your own good," Drac said, taking his place at Mavis's side. "There are four of us and only one of you."

" _Three_ of us," Mavis corrected, glaring at Al. He looked down at his feet in shame.

"Drac just jinxed us, didn't he?" Al asked.

"Indeed he did," confirmed Hyde.

Hyde snapped his fingers and Hunters flooded the room. They came from the shadows of the ceiling, they broke through the windows of the hall, and they flew down from the ends of the hall. There were a dozen Hunters when they stopped coming in, and they surrounded Drac and his family who were surrounding Hyde.

Hyde casually walked out of the circle Al, Dennis, Drac, and Mavis made and joined himself with the larger circle of Hunters.

"Alucard, I've fulfilled my end of the bargain," informed Hyde. "Your mother is safe and freed."

"Why do I doubt that?" Al muttered.

"Should you wish to leave right now, I won't stop you," continued Hyde. "Should you stay and fight, we'll treat you as we'll treat them. Mavis there certainly does look aggravated, however. If we don't beat you, she certainly will."

"Bring it on," Al said.

"Your confidence is admirable," Hyde complimented. "You must realize that you're in-over-your-head. There is absolutely no way you can beat us here."

"I believe you owe us the courtesy of telling us what exactly you want," said Drac.

"I know I shouldn't, but I'll humor you this one time," explained Hyde. "I know what it's like to be human. I know what it's like to be a monster. The interaction between the two is... chaotic. Ever since you lot opened the bottle, the traditional line between monsters and men have been blurred. I'd like to have them redrawn."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Al asked.

"I'm surprised you don't know." Mavis angrily directed her comment to Al.

"I didn't expect any of you to understand," revealed Hyde. "In time, you will. However, time is not something I would like to waste at the moment. Surrender now, come with us peacefully, and I'll involve you in my little circle."

"I'm afraid I have to decline your offer," Drac said.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Hyde smiled. "You just made a grave mistake, however. You small few can't hope to defeat us all, no matter how powerful you think you are."

"You're all talk," Mavis said.

"No, he's right," Drac admitted.

"Don't say that Papa Drac," requested Dennis.

Sighing, Drac froze Al, Mavis, and Dennis. All three were stuck in their battle poses. Using his telekinesis, he launched them off of the ground at an incredible speed. This happened as the Hunters closed in on the group. By the time Drac finished his throw, he was overwhelmed by Hunters. They were flying right towards the window.

Drac was sacrificing himself for his family. He knew that as long as there was someone left to fight the Hunters, they could be stopped another day. Unfortunately, as Dennis flew through the air, Hyde jumped up and caught his frozen body with one hand.

Al and Mavis were a lot luckier. They flew over Hyde and the Hunters and crashed through the windows. From there, they flew through the night sky.

"Do we go after them?" A Hunter asked Hyde who handed Dennis to another Hunter while the others restrained Drac with silver chains.

"No need," Hyde answered. "We don't need them. We already have two prime vampires who will be just fine for us. Besides, they'll come to us."

* * *

They unfroze when they landed. Al groaned as he got up, wiping the dirt, dust, and glass off of his jacket. He saw Mavis standing at the edge of the rooftop they crash landed onto, looking out over the city. They were in the middle of an urban district. There were few people roaming the streets considering how late it was, and no one noticed Mavis brooding over them.

From where she was, she had a great view of the Eiffel Tower.

Al slowly and cautiously approached Mavis, but he stopped when she said, "Don't take another step closer."

Understanding her point of view, he obliged.

"You have questions," Al assumed.

"None," revealed Mavis. "The Hunters took your mom and strong-armed you into helping them out. You were tasked to bring us to them. You succeeded." She turned on her heel and stared Al down. "We trusted you, we welcomed you into the family, and you stabbed us in the back. No, that's not right. A betrayal would mean that you were on our side in the first place."

"You don't know the whole story," Al argued. "Yes, I came to Transylvania to kidnap one of you. I was the one who fought you that night."

Mavis recalled the man in the mask. Her old theory was correct.

"I changed my mind, however," Al continued. "I got attached. I didn't know that I was your brother, and hell, I'm not sure if I even _am_. I didn't know about Drac and my mother, but that's what made me give up working for them. I wanted to know what a real family felt like. I risked my mother's life for you guys."

"You want a medal?" Mavis cruelly asked.

"I made a mistake," Al repeated. "Lily told me that I could still save my mother if I brought a prime vampire to Paris."

"You made up the Philosopher's Stone to trick me into coming here," muttered Mavis.

"Yes," admitted Al. "I had every intention of turning myself in, but I had to stay to protect the Hotel from the invasion, and you flew here without my warning."

"I admit, I was being stupid," Mavis said. "But, if you had only told us everything earlier, this could've been avoided. No, you kept things close to your chest. Now, Dennis and Dad have been taken by the Hunters! I might be bad, but you're the worst. The only reason I'm not kicking your ass right now is because you've at least made an effort to fix things."

"I'm sorry," apologized Al. "Apologies won't fix anything, however. Come on, we need to save Drac and Dennis."

"We? There is no we! You couldn't trust me to tell the truth, and you've made sure to keep me from ever trusting you again. This is your fault. Brother or not, you're dead to me."

Mavis turned around again and prepared herself to take flight.

"I'm going to save my family," Mavis said. "Without you. Your deal with the Hunters is done. Your mom is safe somewhere, I'm sure. Go back to New York, Fang. Live your life. Do whatever you need to do. Just... make sure whatever you need to do doesn't include me."

She transformed into a bat and flew off, leaving Al standing on the rooftop.

When Mavis was out of view, Al dropped to his knees and screamed in anger. Everything was falling apart for him. No matter how hard he tried to prevent things, they were apparently inevitable. Perhaps his attempts to stop the worst actually caused it to happen.

"Alucard, you know I hate it when you raise your voice like that," said a woman's voice in a British accent.

Al stood and looked behind. He saw Lucine standing a few feet away from him. She wore the same blouse and dress pants Al last saw her in, but they were in a lot worse condition. Her hair was somewhat messy, but she looked healthy all things considered. A rush of emotions overcame Al, but he felt relief the most.

"Ma," Al said, approaching his mother and hugging her. "I was sure you were dead."

"They tortured me," Lucine gloomily reminded. "They still needed me for leverage, however. They let me go not too long ago, and I saw you flying through the sky, so I tracked you here. I've missed you so much. I knew you would save me."

"I almost didn't," said Al, turning away. "They told me they'd kill you if I betrayed them, and I did. I knew you could've died when I fought against them. I'm... I'm sorry, Ma."

Lucine sensed that her son was about to cry. The last thing she wanted to do was see a grown man do that.

"Don't regret it, Alucard," Lucine said. "You did what you knew was right, surely. If I had to die so that others could live, then I would gladly take that trade. I'll never hate you for your decision, son. You made the right call."

"I never make the right calls," Al argued. "If I'd only told Mavis and Drac everything earlier, they wouldn't have come here. Drac and Dennis wouldn't have been captured, and Mavis wouldn't be going as a one-woman army to fight the Hunters."

"She isn't a one-woman army," Lucine revealed. "Don't be an idiot."

"Thanks for that, Ma," groaned Al.

"You're going to help her after all," said Lucine.

"I think you missed the part where she never wants to see me again," reminded Al.

"I'm disappointed in you, Al."

"I know you are. I really screwed up."

"No, not about that. I'm disappointed that you have giving-up as an option. I raised you better than that."

"Ma?"

"Stop moping and whining about your failures. None of that matters anymore. What matters is what you do now to redeem yourself. Every second you waste puts everyone in more danger. Don't even think about allowing yourself to let that happen. You hurt some feelings. So what? When you defeat the Hunters, they'll all see who you truly are."

Al thought about his mother's words and put all of his self-loathing aside.

"You're right," Al said.

"Of course I am," Lucine chuckled. "Your sister needs you."

"My sister... Ma, I heard Drac's side of the story, and I need to hear yours. Is Dracula really my father?"

"If I said no, would it make you want to help them out any less?"

"Of course not."

"Good. It shouldn't. Yes, he is your father."

"You should've told me..."

"It looks like we're both good at keeping secrets. However, there's a reason I never told you."

"Because you didn't want him to feel bad about Martha."

"No, that's why I never told _him_. I have another reason for you. Dracula is a great vampire and a great man. If you'd have known, you would've spent every second of every day trying to live up to him. No one should live their lives like that. I wanted you to forge your own path in life and make a name for yourself on your own terms. Your father doesn't define you, Alucard. He never did, and he never will. You are not Alucard, the Son of Dracula. What you become is entirely up to you. Now, who are you, and what're you going to do?"

Al smiled.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**


	18. The Mad Scientist

**The Mad Scientist**

Finding the Hunters wasn't as easy as Mavis had hoped. Despite soaring over the city of Paris as fast as she could while using her clairvoyance to look down every nook and cranny, she couldn't find a single sign of the Hunters. She even tried to taunt them by screaming at them to come and get her, but that was to no avail.

She prepared for a fight when she heard her name being called out from below her. Looking down from the sky, she saw the Hotel hearst sitting in the middle of a circular plaza. Standing outside of the car was Frank waving his arms in the air.

"Uncle Frank!" Mavis exclaimed, darting down onto the ground.

"It's such a small world," Frank said. "Funny how you run into people you know in Paris."

"What're you doing here?" Mavis asked. "How did you get here so quickly in the Hearst?"

Frank snapped his fingers and pointed behind him. Mavis looked over his shoulder and found Blobby waving at her. She still had no idea on what exactly that meant, but she didn't care enough to ask for a detailed explanation.

"We're here for Dennis," Wayne announced, getting out of the driver's seat of the Hearst. "He flew off after Drac and Al who flew off after you. We wanted to make sure he was okay, so we came here. He's not with you, so I guess you didn't find him, and Drac and Al didn't find you."

Mavis clenched her fist. "They found me, but... Dad and Dennis..." She took a deep breath.

Frank and Wayne already could tell what had happened to them, judging by Mavis's tone. Their concern turned into sadness.

"And what about Al?" Frank asked.

"Al is a goddamn traitor!" Mavis revealed. "He's been working for them this entire time. He claimed to have a change of heart, but that doesn't mean I trust him."

"What?" Wayne asked. Everyone was clearly in disbelief. "So, he's not your brother? That was all a lie?"

"Doesn't matter," she insisted. "He's not here anymore. What matters now is that we save Drac and Dennis."

Frank put his hand on Mavis's shoulder. "But, if Al really did have a change of heart, don't you think we should take all of the help we can get?"

"Not his," Mavis argued. "I'm done talking about Al. I'm going to save my family. Are you guys coming or not?"

"Mavis, think about this for a second," Wayne pleaded. "The Hunters were able to get the upper hand on four prime vampires. I'm not sure how much help we'll be."

"So, you're saying you're not coming?" Mavis asked.

"Of course not," Wayne said. "I'm just saying that maybe we should get more help. We can go back to the Hotel, and-"

"There's no time," Mavis interrupted. "Dad and Dennis are in trouble right now, not to mention Johnny dying at home. It's now or never, Uncle Wayne."

Frank and Wayne gave each other uneasy looks. Once again, Mavis was being rather rash and impulsive. However, she had valid justification for her actions. Time was of the essence, and if they didn't act soon, the Hunters would do whatever evil they planned on doing.

Nodding, Frank told Mavis to lead the way to the Hunters.

"About that," she said, "I don't know where to start. But, we're lucky we have someone with a strong nose." She stared at Wayne.

Wayne looked around and over his shoulders as if there was someone else she could've been referring to.

"Mavis, my nose doesn't work like it used to," reminded Wayne. "It'd be really hard for me to build up that energy."

"Would you do it for a Scooby snack?" Mavis asked, pulling a treat out of her pocket.

"Where'd you get those?" Frank asked.

"That might help," Wayne said, chomping down on the treat that Mavis tossed at him. "Maybe we need a little more." He caught another one with his mouth and ate happily.

Wayne took a big sniff. "I sense Drac and Dennis... and a whole lot more. Something's weird. They smell... they smell like dead people."

* * *

Drac was restrained with silver chains onto a stretcher with wheels. Although the silver burned, he tried to keep it out of his mind. Beside him were two Hunters with the signature grey skin and red eyes. Walking behind the stretcher was Hyde, smiling at Drac.

The corridor they walked through was dark, dusty, full of webs, and full of... skulls. Hyde's torch was the only source of light, but Drac saw the walls lined with bones and skulls of humans. They weren't like the skeletons at the Hotel. They were dead.

"Where am I?" Drac asked.

"The catacombs," Hyde answered. "One of the many things Paris is famous for." Hyde grinned when he saw the look of horror Drac had on his face. "How amusing this is for me. Count Dracula, the King of the Monsters, trapped in a stretcher by a scientist. Do you feel fear?"

Drac didn't answer.

"Oh, you do. I see it in your eyes. You absolutely do. You've never had anything to fear before. Have you ever felt fear before? Of course you have. I remember. The humans. It was not too long ago that you and all of Monster-kind feared the humans. How stupid you were to do so. Humans are weak, dim-witted creatures. They've spent centuries trying to conquer the world against each other when they should've seen to a greater enemy. I find it insulting that it is they who rule the world."

"Dracula, you are not the King of the Monsters. No, no, no. Humankind is the king of the monsters."

"We coexist peacefully with the humans," Drac exclaimed.

"And we are so much lower for doing so!" Hyde said. "I'm a monster, but I've been human. Jekyll is weak. Fragile. Constrained by the limitations of the human body and nature. A human is a speck that can't even imagine how to contribute to the betterment of the world. The collective race is a parasite that's destroying the world and itself. Soon, they'll be the end of us."

"You're wrong!" Drac said.

"How many wars have been fought by the humans for something as inconsequential as philosophy?" Hyde asked. "How much damage are the humans doing to the planet? How many monsters have they killed? This isn't about good and bad, Dracula, this is about saving our kind and our world."

"So what's your plan?" Drac asked. "Build an army of Hunters to lay siege to the human race?"

"It's so much deeper than that," assured Hyde.

The tunnel opened up into a gigantic, open area roughly half the size of a football stadium. Lining the walls were ten levels of walkways that circled around the entire open space. One could overlook the area on each level. There were no floors besides the bottom, so Drac could look up and take in the grand sight.

Trapped in the walls on the walkways side-by-side on every level were monsters of all shapes and sizes. Each monster had a small room that was no bigger than a prison cell with glass instead of bars. A small handful were banging on the glass to no avail, and the majority were sitting down, discouraged. Hunters patrolled the walkways, making sure to shoot down any resistance.

Prison was the word that Drac would use to describe the whole place. He knew that the monsters being held captive were the monsters that the Hunters had captured.

The monsters saw Drac being dragged into the room. Many began to shout after Drac. The shouts were for various reasons.

"This is where you keep them," Drac muttered. "But why?"

"Well, after I used them, I couldn't just let them go and compromise my operations. Besides, many of them made for useful Hunters."

"Use them? For what?"

Hyde pointed up in front of him.

At the end of the room opposite to the entrance Drac took was a large tube that was about forty feet high and twenty feet wide. He could briefly make out a silhouette inside, but the bubbling green liquid inside the tube made it hard to see for sure what it was.

On both sides of the large cylinder was complex machinery that connected to the cylinder via smaller, snaking tubes that seemed to pump the liquid in. There were an exorbitant amount of buttons on both machines, flashing lights, and turning gears. It was like the machines mad scientists used in cartoons.

In front of the tube was a large monitor over an impressive table of buttons which Drac assumed to be an advanced keyboard. Hyde was definitely a mad scientist from a cartoon.

"Mad scientist," muttered Drac. "How cliche."

"The role works for me," Hyde insisted.

Drac stretched his head around the base. He recognized some of the trapped monsters as some of the recently kidnapped monsters from the Hotel.

"Hyde, you hate humans," reminded Drac. "Why are you doing this to your fellow monsters?"

"Human sympathizers, every one of them," Hyde explained. "They're all weak, just like you. They attempt to integrate with the humans, forgetting who we are supposed to be! For every second this goes on, monster kind gets weaker. Eventually, we'll be no better than them. I must hurt them to help them. Don't forget that you must break a few eggs to make an omelette."

"All monsters embrace the humans," Drac argued. "As they have embraced us!"

"Oh, I'm sure most of us have been deceived to believe just that," Hyde said. "But, after tonight, everyone will have a change of perspective. I will light the spark of revolution, Dracula. It begins tonight! It begins with the destruction of Hotel Transylvania."

"You've tried before and failed," Dracula said. "What makes you think you'll succeed this time?"

Hyde chuckled. "Because this time, I have you and your grandson." Hyde pointed to a cell on the bottom floor where Dennis was sitting, looking gloomy.

"You plan on turning us into your henchmen?" Drac asked.

"Not yet," Hyde answered. "Speaking of, would like a demonstration of that?"

Hyde snapped his fingers, and struggling could be heard from the corner of the room.

"Dad!" Drac called.

The old vampire, Vlad, was being pulled with silver chains wrapped around his wrist by two Hunters of different monster types. They went to a machine on the left side of the large, main set-up with the large cylinder. This smaller set had a see-through cylinder that was about seven feet high. Tubes and wires were connecting it to a device with a large, complex button layout.

"Drac, my boy!" Vlad called. "It seems we're in a bit of a pickle. Any chance you have an escape plan ready?"

"I'll get back to you on that in just a moment, Dad," assured Drac. He then turned to Hyde who was much closer. "Why do you need him?"

"I don't," Hyde admitted. "I just wanted to show you something."

The Hunters threw Vlad into the tube. The old vampire attempted to jump out of it but it sealed immediately. As he banged on the glass, the Hunters who escorted him began to work on the machine. They pressed various buttons and did technical things Drac didn't understand.

"Leave him alone!" Drac demanded. "I'll do whatever you want."

"I know you will," said Hyde.

"Don't you know who I am?" Vlad asked. "I've seen more years than all of you combined. I've faced more dangers than you can dream of. Do you think you can best me?"

The chamber began to fill with a black liquid. Vlad looked down in horror as he was engulfed by the liquid. He held his breath to make sure he wouldn't drown in it.

"Dad!" Drac called. He couldn't see the silhouette of his father. He just saw the tube of bubbling black liquid.

"What is that?"

"Just a little something I created to make my life easier," Hyde said. "There are two ways I use to corrupt monsters. One of them, as you can see, is with the tube. It's better suited for monsters who can't be obedient and stand still. The other method is injection with the same serum. It works the same, but it's a slower process and not as fun to watch. I must use the latter on the larger monsters."

When the bubbling black liquid drained completely from the chamber, the doors slid open and Vlad fell onto his hands and knees. Like the Hunters, his skin was turned grey and his eyes were red. No expression was present on his face.

"Stand up, Hunter," Hyde ordered.

Vlad followed his command.

"Dad!" Drac called. Vlad did not even acknowledge his own son.

"The serum toughens them up," explained Hyde. "The grey skin is just a side effect, as are the red eyes with enhanced senses. They're very susceptible to my commands in that state, therefore they do as I say and only what I say."

" _Very_ susceptible," said Drac. "Meaning not completely."

Hyde gritted his teeth. "I admit, there have been minimal instances where they're not as acquiescing as I'd like, but my anti-serum fixes that. It puts them back in their original state for them to go back into the machine. That way, we can go through the process over again and hopefully they'll be more submissive."

"Well, I thank you for the information," said Drac. "You really are a dumb super villain."

"I don't care about what you know," Hyde said. "Before long, you'll be put in the machine yourself."

"Not only dumb, but an arrogant super villain!"

Hyde ignored Drac. "I started alone, you see. I worked hard to build up my organization. I achieved this all from the ground up! Monsters like me should be the ones running this world. Monsters who take initiative. Years ago, I'd have offered you a place by my side, Dracula. But, you became so, so soft. Now, you'll merely serve as a piece to complete my puzzle."

"Your puzzle?"

Hyde pointed to the towering tube of green liquid with the silhouette inside.

"My harbinger of a new age," Hyde announced. "You see, I've always admired Frankenstein. The doctor, not your friend. He created something truly special, but the potential of his creature was wasted. I don't intend to make the same mistake."

Drac's eyes widened, understanding what was inside of the tube.

"You're making a monster," Drac announced.

"A monster whose sole purpose is to obey and destroy," confirmed Hyde. "I captured the countless monsters you see here today for their DNA. For their biological compositions and advantages. I took blood, bones, scales, whatever they could give. I broke them down and put them together. I engineered this creature you see before you. It's not finished yet, however. Don't believe that I made a mistake with the science. No, the creature is ready, but it has yet to reach its full potential."

Hyde walked closer to Drac and stared him down with their faces a foot apart.

"It can fly and suck blood," said Hyde, "but it can't use telekinesis, it can't transform, it can't hypnotize, it can't do half the things you can do. I have vampires, yes, but I wanted a prime vampire. They're rare, and you and your family are the only ones I know about."

"You went through all of this trouble and terrorized my Hotel for a DNA sample for a science experiment?" Drac asked, unimpressed.

"Believe me, it's nothing personal. Well, it is a little. I kidnapped Vlad knowing that he was a prime vampire, but when I used his DNA, the resulting creature was as frail as Vlad. I had to restart. I needed someone younger, much younger. So, my eyes were set on Vlad's family. But, had I known that Alucard Lucine was a prime vampire, I'd have used him instead of you. He almost took your place. Almost."

"They will stop you, you know," Drac said. "Mavis and Al. They'll shut this all down. They'll free your Hunters, they'll free them all, and they'll make you wish you really died in your story."

"Oh, you haven't heard the news?"

Hyde snapped his fingers. Flying from above were Hunters - vampires and harpies - who held Mavis, Wayne, Frank, and Blobby - trapped in a glass box - and dropped them onto the ground behind Hyde. They were all wrapped in silver chains.

"No," muttered Drac.

"We're better than humans, but we're not much smarter it seems," Hyde said. "My men caught them snooping around the entrance to the catacombs that lead to this place, and they really thought it wouldn't be guarded. Pathetic. What of Alucard and his mother?"

"They were nowhere near these monsters," reported one of the Hunters.

"I want more eyes everywhere," Hyde ordered. "I need more guards around the entrance. If they come to us, we'll stop them. I won't waste anymore Hunters looking for them."

"Yes, sir," said the Hunter.

"This is just a minor set-back, Drac," said Frank. "Don't worry, we'll get out eventually."

"Hunters, separate his limbs and place each one in a different cell," ordered Hyde.

"Oh, is that really necessary?" Frank asked as two Hunters dismembered him like a toy.

"Where is Dennis?" Mavis demanded.

"Don't worry, I hardly laid a finger on the boy," Hyde assured.

"Hyde!" Mavis growled.

"No, Mavis!" Drac exclaimed. "Don't ask him so he doesn't-"

"What's happening here?" Mavis asked.

"Go off on a long, boring speech," finished Drac.

"Humanity is rather weak, you see," Hyde started.

Drac then said his next words in a rapid manner. "Hyde is kidnapping monsters to use their DNA to create a super-monster which could potentially destroy humanity. He's mad at humanity because we're their equals, and he's mad at us for letting that happen so he's going to use the super-monster and the Hunters to destroy the Hotel. By the way, he uses a weird serum to turn us into Hunters but there's an antidote. Any questions?" He took a deep breath after.

Mavis and Wayne shook their heads.

"You ruined my moment," said Hyde.

"You already had your moment with _me_ ," Drac said.

"It's so much better with a larger audience... Just for that, we're taking what we need right now."

As Mavis, Wayne, and Frank were being taken away to their respective cells, Hyde pushed Drac's stretcher closer to the machinery and the beast.

"Don't worry, Drac," Hyde said. "The process shouldn't hurt that much. My Abomination shall be completed, your Hotel shall be destroyed, and a new world will rise from its ashes! Nobody can stop me now!"

Mavis gagged. "That line only works in the movies."

 **To be continued in the next chaper**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think.

Again, sorry this story is taking so long to write. However, it'll be over soon. I expect there to be at most 5 more chapters.

Ciao.


	19. The Children Of Dracula

**The Children Of Dracula**

Al walked around the parked Hearst in the empty plaza, inspecting every inch to make sure there wasn't anything he missed that would tell him the whereabouts of the monsters who used the car to drive from the Hotel to Paris. Judging by the fur on the front seat and the indent on the chair of the back, he knew that Wayne and Frank were at least the ones who drove in it.

Earlier, Al made Lucine promise to take it easy for the next few nights. She agreed and flew off and away from Paris to take a rest from all of the stress. Paris was where all of the danger was being concentrated, and the last thing Al wanted was for his mother to be in harm's way again.

He attempted to use his clairvoyance to scan the area around him to make sure they weren't close by, but he immediately stopped when he heard a rustling behind him.

Automatically, Al assumed that it was an enemy. If it were otherwise, he or she would've announced themselves. So, ready for battle, Al turned on his heel and raised his fists in front of him.

What he saw was a black, metal trash container a few yards in front of him. To his surprise, there were no enemies in sight. There was no one in sight at all. However, Al still had his suspicions. Trash could not make sounds by itself, so he knew that there was someone or something inside the can.

"There's no point in hiding, I know you're there," said Al. "Save me the trouble and show yourself."

"Al?" Winnie's voice replied.

Jumping from out of the bin was the little wolf-pup in a pink dress. She scurried over to Al, making sure to swat off any and all stray trash that was sticking to her body.

With a mixture of shock and relief on his face, Al knelt down to level himself with Winnie. The wolf-pup lunged up to hug him, and he gently wrapped his arms around her. Although they last saw each other not too long ago, their reunion felt like it was long overdue.

"What're you doing here?" Al asked.

"Uncle Frank and my dad drove over here to find and keep Dennis safe," Winnie answered.

"I'm guessing you were told to stay home," said Al.

Winnie put her paws behind her back and looked away coyly.

"It's okay, Winnie. Just tell me what happened."

"Mavis, Uncle Frank, and Dad found each other. They left to go save Dracula and Dennis, and I followed like a ninja. But, the Hunters took them all!"

"So you hid? Smart girl." Al rubbed Winnie's head. However, she didn't look proud of herself. Her eyes watered and a sense of shame washed over her.

"I wanted to help them," Winnie revealed. "I should've helped them. Maybe if I fought some of the Hunters, we would've won, and they wouldn't have gotten taken away."

"No, Winnie, you did the absolute right thing. These Hunters are a tough group of people, and they would've overpowered you all regardless. We can't overpower them yet, but we can outsmart them. That's exactly what you did; you outsmarted them. In a way, you did win."

Winnie reluctantly let out a smirk.

"Besides, now you'll have your chance to get in on the action. Winnie, I'm planning a rescue mission, but I can't rescue them if I don't know where they are. I need that nose of yours. Think you can help me?"

Winnie's smirk transformed into a large grin.

* * *

Mavis sat with her back leaning against the wall of her cell and her legs extended. She was placed in one of the cells near the top of the underground prison and Hunter lab. She had a good place for viewing her father being strapped down to a machine in the bottom floor.

The Hunters and Hyde restrained him upright against machinery. Drac did his best to struggle against the silver chains and needles being injected into his body, but there was nothing he could do.

"Don't worry, Dracula, this will be over in no time," Hyde said as he inserted the last needle into Drac's flesh.

"No," said a familiar voice.

"Uncle Murray?" Mavis asked.

"Mavis?" Murray's voice replied.

Mavis ran to the left side of her cell and pressed her head against the wall.

"Uncle Murray, have you been here the whole time?"

Murray the Mummy approached the right side of his cell to talk to Mavis.

"Yeah," Murray answered. "These suckers got me weeks ago. They hooked me up to that machine like Drac, but it turns out that there wasn't anything they could've taken from me."

"It's really good to hear your voice again, Uncle Murray," Mavis said. "We feared the worst, and... It turns out we were right."

"Tell me the story of what happened to you guys while I was here?"

"Not much to tell," admitted Mavis. "Things were crazy at the Hotel, turns out I had a brother but he ended up being a real asshole, and now I'm here."

"A brother?"

"Don't worry about him," said Mavis. "His secrets are why we're here."

"I'm sorry, Mavis," Murray said.

"No, _I'm_ sorry," she replied. "I failed, Uncle Murray. We were supposed to stop the Hunters and save all of the monsters. Now, we're just in the same hot water. I don't know how I can live with myself anymore. Hell, chances are I won't have to."

Back down on the bottom floor, Hyde pressed a large green button on his machine, and blood immediately began to drain from Drac's body. From the needles, the blood flowed through tubes into a machine with tubes on other ends. From the machine, a new, green liquid flowed through tubes that connected directly to the large, cylinder chamber that housed the large beast.

"Hey, Mavis, you mentioned you had a brother," said Murray.

"I'm not sure if he even _is_ ," reminded Mavis. "I practically disowned him earlier, though."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Murray said, disinterested. "Is he tall with messy black hair and green eyes? Does he wear a zipper-jacket, a striped shirt, and jeans?"

"Yeah, but how did you know-"

"That looks exactly like the guy down there."

Raising an eyebrow, Mavis went to the glass pane of her cell and looked down at the bottom floor. It seems that every other monster in their cells were observing the same thing. Hunters patrolling the walkways saw it and immediately flew or ran down.

Standing in the center of the room was Al alone.

"Hey, Quasimodo!" He called out. Obviously, he was calling out Hyde and his hunched back.

Hyde stopped fidgeting with his machine, turned around, and saw Al standing a hundred feet away. Hunters began to circle Al while keeping their distance. Intrigued by the sight, Hyde left Drac's side.

"You dare equate me with that washed-up chef?" Hyde asked.

"Yeah, you're right," said Al. "It's not a fair comparison. He smells nicer."

Hyde gritted his teeth.

"Don't you want to know how I snuck past your guards?" Al asked.

"Given the fact that we have you now, I couldn't care less," revealed Hyde. "Why are you here? Are you a coward seeking amnesty? Have you seen the inevitable future and come to turn yourself in to save us all the trouble? Or, are you merely a fool seeking to be a hero?"

"I'm here to stage a prison break!" Al announced.

"You're not doing a great job!" Drac yelled from the machine.

"No, _you're_ not doing a great job!" Al countered.

"So, you're a fool," muttered Hyde. He chuckled. "I gave you an out, Alucard. Our deal was done, and I was happy to go our separate ways. You, and only you, brought yourself back in. If you want to play the enemy, I have no choice but to treat you as such."

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," mocked Al. "Just tell me how to free everyone, and we can be done with this."

"Well, I don't know if you noticed, but there's a button on the central control panel that says 'Open all cells,'" revealed Hyde. He turned around and pointed at the button and turned back around to face Al.

Al zoomed his vision in to the long keyboard in front of the large beast, and sure enough, there was a big red button with the words "Open all cells" written in white.

"Tell me why you bothered adding a button that released all of the prisoners?" Al asked.

"Do not question my genius!" Hyde barked.

"Why would you add it with the other complicated buttons?" Al asked. "If some idiot slipped up and accidentally pressed it, then your whole operation would've been thwarted."

"Alucard, do you know how hard it is to build a super secret lair underground?" Hyde asked. "I had to build this all from scratch! Design flaws could not be avoided. However, it has evidently proven to work out well for me. I'd like to see you do better."

"I bet you don't even get Wi-Fi down here," joked Al.

"Of course I don't get-" Hyde stopped himself. "I've had enough of this. Hunters, get him in a cell."

Al cursed silently. He muttered to himself, "Damn, I need more time."

He raised his voice. "So, you're telling me that if I want to succeed in my prison break, I need to press _that_ big button?" He pointed to the button.

Hyde answered "yes" without even looking behind him.

"The big button that says, 'Open all cells?'"

"Have you listened to a word I said?" Hyde angrily asked.

"What're you working on up there?" Al asked, pointing towards the beast in the tube. "Did KFC hire you to genetically engineer a chicken?"

"That is the end of humanity as you know it!" Hyde said, proudly. Groans could be heard among all of the captive monsters and Hunters. Everyone was sick of Hyde giving out exposition.

"I've used DNA from all of these monsters to create my Abomination. A super-monster, if you will." Hyde explained.

"Lame," said Al.

"It is not _lame_. You should fear it as humankind will!"

"Has it got a name?"

"I called it the Abomina-"

"You can't call it that! Do you _want_ a lawsuit from Marvel Comics?!"

"I don't care if the name is copyrighted."

"How 'bout we call him... Keith."

"I'm sorry? Keith? Are you messing with me? Is he messing with me?"

The Hunters shrugged.

Al smirked. "Glad you finally caught on."

Hyde's eyes widened in horror as he turned around. Winnie bounced into the air in front of the central console and slammed her paw against the "Open all cells" button.

All hell broke loose.

Every glass door of every single cell in the lair slid open. Dozens of monsters of all shapes and sizes ran out of their cells, standing on the edge of the walkways, looking down at the bottom floor. The Hunters patrolling on the walkways made sure to run or fly down all the way onto the bottom floor to rejoin their peers.

"No, no, no!" Hyde yelled.

About one hundred Hunters in all gathered in a circle around Al, although none of them were looking at The Fang. They all had their heads up, intimidated by the floors and floors of monsters who have been in captivity for god-knows-how-long. Every single one of them looked down at the Hunters with glares of malice.

"You've all been cooped up in here for a long time," Al announced to all of the monsters. "I suggest you go and get some exercise."

"And what do you suggest, little brother?" Mavis asked, calling him out from one of the higher floors.

The siblings shared a smile with each other.

"I, for one," started Al, "like to kick-ass."

The monsters all cheered and began their descent to the bottom floor.

"Well, what are you fools waiting for?" Hyde barked. "Get them!"

The Hunters who could fly floated upwards to meet the freed monsters. The rest stayed where they were and prepared themselves for the horde that would be coming from above and down the stairs. They ignored Al since Al didn't engage in fisticuffs just yet.

Once again, Al heard Mavis's voice. This time, it was from behind. He turned around to find his sister standing there with her hands on her hips.

Al sighed. "Mavis, I'm-"

She lunged at him and wrapped her arms around him. Caught by surprise, he hesitated before patting her on the back.

"I should be the one to say that I'm sorry," Mavis said. "I hated you for what you've done, but I ignored everything you did to make up for it. No matter how hard I try to push you away, you just keep coming back. I don't deserve you. From this day on, you're my brother. Blood ties be damned."

"Let's just call it even," said Al. "I'm not too good with this corny stuff."

"Deal," agreed Mavis.

When she let go of her hug, she turned around and saw Hyde scrambling over to the central console. She looked up and saw electric pylons pointed towards the tube. Blue sparks ran over the pylons.

"Hyde already has Dad's prime vampire genes pumped into that thing," Mavis reminded.

"That means it's ready to go," summarized Al.

"We can't let Hyde get to that console," asserted Mavis.

Nodding, the two jumped up and flew towards Hyde. However, Mavis saw that Al was falling behind. She was preparing to stop for him to catch up, but he called out to her and told her to keep on going. Al had something else to do.

Acknowledging it, Mavis flew on towards Hyde. All around her, the Hunters were fighting the monsters. She had to zip past, over, and under the sea of conflict to get to Hyde. Both sides were giving it a good fight. The Hunters were all physically resilient, but none of them were able to work together as efficiently as the monsters.

A large, hairy monster would hold two Hunters up by their heads while a tentacle monster punched both of the Hunters repeatedly in quick succession.

A skeleton would pull out a rib and use it as a boomerang to hit a Hunter assaulting Blobby.

Hyde's hand was an inch away from a lever on the console before Mavis grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him behind her. The mad scientist rolled on the hard, cold floor away from the console. Mavis stood in between him and the large beast. Hyde slammed the ground with his fist hard in frustration.

"Get out of my way!" Hyde demanded.

Mavis looked down at him, saying, "You look like the guy kids pick last for dodgeball. You're not much of a fighter, are you?"

"No," admitted Hyde. He then smiled, showing his crooked teeth. "But _he_ is."

Mavis couldn't turn her head before she was punched away to the side. Although she rolled, she managed to get back on her feet rather quickly. When she turned to her right, she saw her father standing there while still tied up to the machine.

Her assailant was none other than Vlad, corrupted by the Hunter serum.

"Think you can take Grandpa?" Mavis asked her father, loosening his silver chains. Although they hurt her hands, she did it rather quickly, and Drac was on his feet next to her in no time.

"I've been waiting centuries for this opportunity," said Drac as he sped towards Vlad. Drac made sure - on his way towards Vlad - to uppercut Hyde away from the console. Hyde flew backwards onto the hectic fighting of the floor, and Mavis lost him in the crowd.

She took a step forward to enter the fighting herself, but she heard static behind her. Turning around, she found Al messing with a large speaker.

"What are you doing?" She asked, unimpressed.

Al answered, "Trying to get my damn music to play on this stupid thing."

"Why does Hyde even have this thing here?"

"Most likely to taunt about world domination to the monsters. I'm not complaining, though."

"Our friends are fighting to save the world right now, so I hardly think that this is the time for music."

"Mavis, if you know anything about me, you'd know that I'd always make time for music."

Al pressed play on his phone, and _Search and Destroy_ by The Stooges began to play.

 _I'm a street-walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm_

Al nudged Mavis's shoulder to get her to follow him into the battle-floor only a few yards away.

 _I'm a runaway son of the nuclear a-bomb_

Together, with one fist raised each, they punched a vampire-Hunter in the face at the same time. Looking past the vampire, they saw a large ogre giving trouble to a few of their allies. Both transformed into bats to make it easier to traverse the madness of the various fights.

 _I am the world's forgotten boy / The one who searches and destroys_

It all reminded Al of the battles in medieval movies where enemies and allies were doing their best to fight each other while in a crowded area and given little room to move. Of course, instead of swords and shields, it was the fists of monsters and anything else that came with them that they could use to their advantage.

 _Honey gotta help me please / Somebody gotta save my soul_

Al and Mavis transformed again, landed, and sprinted towards the ogre. When they were close enough, Al slid on the ground and extended his arms. He passed under the ogre's legs and pulled its legs back, making it fall forward. As it fell, Mavis uppercutted it hard in the chin, forcing it to fly backwards and bury two Hunters.

 _Baby detonate for me / Oh_

Nearby, Vlad punched at Drac, but Drac easily dodged it. He countered by punching Vlad in the gut, but this failed to phase the old vampire.

 _Look out honey, 'cause I'm using technology_

"Snap out of it, Dad!"

 _Ain't got time to make no apology_

Vlad head-butted Drac, forcing the Count to stagger back.

 _Soul radiation in the dead of night_

Drac looked past his father at the machine where the monsters were transformed into Hunters.

 _Love in the middle of a firefight_

"The antidote..." muttered Drac. "Frank!" He used telekinesis to pull Frankenstein's head from far away towards himself, and made it float next to him.

"I was in the middle of something!" Frank reminded.

"We need to cure the Hunters," Drac asserted. "Hyde mentioned some sort of antidote to the Hunters's condition. You need to figure out how to get it." He pointed to the transformation machine.

"That's not really my specialty, Drac," said Frank.

Ignoring his comment, Drac made the head fly back to the body which was in the middle of knocking two Hunters's heads together.

 _Honey gonna strike me blind / Somebody gotta save my soul_

"Wayne!" Frank called. "On me!"

The werewolf immediately let go of the Hunter leg he was gnawing on to regroup with Frank. He looked to his side and found Murray running with him.

 _Baby penetrates my mind_

"Murray!" Wayne announced. "So good to see you!"

"I've been stuck in here forever," Murray announced. "Glad I get this chance for a comeback."

Together, they rampaged through the floor, making their way to the machine.

By the time Frank, Wayne, and Murray reached the console, Dennis and Winnie were already there. Winnie was typing and pressing buttons on the console, but because she was quite short, she had to stand on top of Dennis's head.

"Winnie?" Wayne asked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm reverse-engineering the serum that turns monsters into Hunters into the anti-serum," revealed Winnie. She pressed a button, and a metal cabinet under the console protruded out with steam. When the steam faded, an exorbitant amount of vials filled with a blue, bubbling liquid were sitting there upright.

"These are the anti-serum that Hyde pre-made before I got here," she continued. "There won't be enough for every Hunter in the lair, but just give me some time and I'll make some."

Wayne picked up a vial. "Uh... Winnie? Where'd you learn all this stuff? The science, engineering, and whatnot."

"The internet," answered Winnie.

"But how're we going to distribute it?" Murray asked.

Winnie pressed another button, and another cabinet opened up. This time, it contained three water guns.

"Are you kidding me?" Frank muttered.

"I'm a child, I don't kid," said Winnie.

 _And I'm the world's forgotten boy_

Nearby, Al and Mavis were in the thick of battle. They fought back to back, jumping, kicking, and doing whatever they needed to do to take out any Hunters approaching them. However, a glimmer of light on a sword at the corner of Al's vision caught his attention. He looked over to the source.

 _The one's who searchin', searchin' to destroy_

Grendel, Hyde's right-hand man, approached Al and Mavis with a silver sword in his hand. Al remembered the silver sword to be the weapon Grendel used to scar him.

"I take it you're not brainwashed," Al said to Grendel.

Grendel shook his head. "I believe in Hyde."

"You're still in control of your own conscious?" Mavis asked. "Good. That means you can make your own decisions. I'm giving you a choice here and now. Fight or walk away. If you walk away, we'll forget you were here."

Grendel readied his sword.

"I was looking forward to this," Al said.

 _And honey I'm the world's forgotten boy_

He rushed towards Grendel, and as Grendel swung, Al got down and slid on his knees, ducking the attack. He landed a jab on Grendel's side as he slid past. Grendel swung around with his sword to try and hit Al, but Al easily dodged it. However, the Hunter left himself vulnerable to Mavis from behind. She kicked him on the back, but he wasn't fazed.

 _The one's who searchin', searchin' to destroy_

Mavis's foot was still pressed against his back, so he grabbed Mavis by the ankle with his free hand and swung her around so that she slammed into Al. They both rolled backwards together, knocking over a poor skeleton who was on their side.

 _Forgotten boy, forgotten boy_

"On your feet," Mavis ordered.

 _Forgotten boy said_

"You don't need to be so bossy," muttered Al.

They both rushed towards Grendel together. Grendel swung his sword, and the vampires barely dodged the attack. Al grabbed Grendel by the sword-arm, allowing Mavis to get some free shots at Grendel's face. However, Grendel dropped his sword for a second before catching it with his other hand, holding it back-hand.

 _Hey forgotten boy_

Mavis was exposed, and it was too late for her to react efficiently. Grendel stabbed Mavis in the thigh with the sword, and the blade went through her flesh cleanly. She screamed in pain, and Al was so distracted by her distress that he loosened his grip.

Grendel grinned as he elbowed Al in the face, sending him falling back. Mavis, too, fell on her back. She cradled her leg, trying not to move the sword too much.

Grendel got on his knees next to Mavis, held the sword by the handle, and began to twist the blade. Mavis whimpered.

"Do you feel that?" Grendel asked. "That is just the beginning." Grendel stood up. "The children of Dracula are such pushovers. I've wasted enough of my time on you two."

Then, Grendel froze in place. Everything in his vision had a green tint. From a floor above, Blobby had jumped down and landed on top of Grendel. Grendel went through Blobby and was trapped in a jelly prison. As long as Blobby had Grendel inside of him, Grendel could do nothing.

Al stood up to meet Grendel's frozen expression.

"You just got bested by Jello-O," mocked Al. "That's a story to tell to your friends, wouldn't you think?"

He then focused on Mavis, took a deep breath, and began to take the sword out.

Elsewhere, Drac and Vlad were engaging in a lightning-fast fist-fight.

"Careful, Dad," Drac said. "Wouldn't want you to throw out your back!"

As if that insult was heard by Vlad, the old vampire kicked Drac in the gut and Drac was sent flying back and crashing into a wall. Drac watched with blurry vision as Vlad charged towards him with a fist raised. However, Vlad soon tumbled and fell forward, flat on his face. Drac looked at Vlad with a confused face, but when he looked behind his father, he saw Frank standing triumphantly with a water gun.

A splatter of green liquid was shown on Vlad's back.

"What is that?" Drac asked, looking at the liquid.

Immediately, Vlad gasped for air as he got up, his grey skin recovering back to its normal color. His red eyes turned back into blue.

"Dad?" Drac asked.

"What happened?" Vlad asked. "One moment I was being put into the machine by those shmucks and the next I'm flat on the ground."

"Don't worry about it, Vlad," Frank said. "Just know that there are some bad guys who need to take their medicine."

Wayne and Murray were already in the middle of blasting every Hunter they could see with their water guns. It was as if they were playing a video game. Hunters were dropping left and right in the middle of their fights with the good monsters.

Frank immediately joined in on the purification of the Hunters. Grey-skins and red-eyes disappeared everywhere. Any of the non-Hunters who were hit by the anti-serum weren't affected in the slightest.

Al helped Mavis up, and they observed the Hunters trying their best to avoid being blasted by the water guns.

"Oh, this is the greatest day of my life," said Al, smiling.

Within a few short minutes, not a single brain-washed Hunter remained. Every single monster looked around to find each other unharmed and content. Many of the ex-Hunters hugged their peers, glad to be free from the serum and Hyde.

Frank, Murray, and Wayne all gave each other high-fives.

"Good to have you back, Murray!" Frank announced, hugging his friend.

"Things just weren't the same at the Hotel," Wayne said.

"I'm going to need a long vacation after this," Murray stated.

Vlad put his arm around Drac's shoulders. "I'm so proud of you, my boy! You saved monster-kind."

"Yeah... you kick hard for an old man," replied Drac.

Winnie had Dennis pinned down, licking him furiously. Dennis giggled, and when he managed to get Winnie off of him, he flew towards Mavis and Al. Mavis still had her arm wrapped over Al's shoulder to help her stand up.

"Mommy! Uncle Al! Did we win?" Dennis asked.

The sound of electricity nearby turned everyone's attention to the main console. Hyde stood in front of the machine, his hand on the lever to bring his creature to life. Blue sparks ran down from the pylons and surrounded the chamber. The green liquid inside of the glass cylinder bubbled as the silhouette began to fidget and move.

The electricity made the main console overload and blow up, throwing Hyde backwards onto his back.

When the chamber shattered, the green liquid began to pour out, and a loud roar was heard. This caused a chain reaction where the equipment and technology Hyde used to create the beast exploded, causing the entire lair to shake. The force of such an explosion caused all of the monsters to fall back and have their hearing temporarily impaired. Some of the stone railways began to crumble and fall onto the bottom floor. The ceiling, too, began to crumble.

As parts of the ceiling began to fall down, monsters scrambled to run away and avoid being crushed. The night sky was visible from above, but no one could pay attention to it.

When Mavis got her bearings together, she saw Dennis unconscious besides her. Since her leg was in too much pain, she couldn't stand up. She crawled towards her son, covering his body to protect him from potential falling debris. When she looked up, she got a good look at the beast.

It was easily at least thirty feet tall with a humanoid body. It's upper body was quite muscular and much larger proportionally to its legs. Black fur covered it from head to toe. The hands and feet were webbed with sharp, black claws at the end. Under its arms and connecting with the sides of its torso were wings that looked like a bat's. In fact, the entire monster looked like a bat. It had beady, red eyes. It's teeth were, of course, as sharp as a razor. It's nose was a snout. On the top of its head were large, dog-like ears and horns.

"My Abomination!" Hyde announced. "Nod if you can understand me!"

The creature obliged.

"Nod if you understand that I am your master."

The creature nodded. It then shrieked. It looked behind its head and saw Drac, hanging from Grendel's silver sword. Drac had secretly flown up with the sword and lodged it into the beasts's back. However, the sword didn't seem to harm the Abomination. The sword merely annoyed it.

It grabbed Drac's entire body with its hand and squeezed. Drac clenched his teeth in pain. It then threw Drac down hard onto the ground, making him join a pile of unconscious monsters. It then pulled the blade out with two of its fingers and it was relatively no bigger than a straw for the beast.

"I will destroy everything you've built," Hyde told Drac. The Abomination held its hand out for Hyde to jump onto. It then brought Hyde up to stand on its shoulder. From his vantage point, Hyde saw Mavis and Dennis curled on the ground. "Starting with them. Abomination! Kill the woman and child!"

The Abomination threw the sword at Mavis and Dennis so that it flew like a needle in the air. Mavis, too weak to dodge, got on her knees in front of Dennis to shield his body. She hoped that the sword would get stuck in her and therefore not harm Dennis.

"I love you," Mavis said, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Johnny..."

She heard the sound of sword sliding through flesh, but she felt no pain. She reckoned that she was already dead. However, when she opened her eyes, she found no sword through her body. She looked to her left and right to see if the sword had hit something else, but she couldn't see it.

When she finally turned around, she gasped.

Al stood behind her with his arms extended and with the blade of the silver sword sticking out of his chest.

"To Hotel Transylvania!" Hyde exclaimed, holding tightly onto his creation.

The Abomination roared and flew upwards, crashing through the ceiling and flying up into the sky over the city of Paris.

Half the monsters watched in horror as the Abomination was unleashed. The other half looked at or joined the crowd gathering around Al in sadness.

Al dropped down onto his knees, barely able to speak. From behind, Drac pulled the blade from his chest. Al was free to lay down on the ground. Mavis caught his head on her lap. She stroked his hair frantically.

Drac, Vlad, Blobby, Frank, Winnie, and Wayne stood over Mavis and Al. Dennis regained consciousness rather quickly, saw Al's condition, and rushed over to hold his hand.

"This hurts a lot," Al said, trying to smile.

"You're going to be just fine," Mavis assured. "I'm not losing Johnny, and I'm not losing you."

"Silver sword through the chest is just like a wooden stake through the heart," Al revealed. He coughed. "This is... the end. At least I don't have to... see my pretty face when it's old. That'd be more painful, I bet..."

Mavis chuckled. Her tears fell onto Al's face.

"You gave us everything," Mavis said. "I've tried to push you away, and you kept on giving. You deserve better than this."

"That's the thing about love, Mavis... You give, and you're not supposed to expect anything in return. But, you gave me something in these past few days. You gave me a family life I never had before. I'll never forget it, and I'll keep it in my mind... at the end."

"Idiot. You should've let me sacrifice myself for my son."

"Don't you see, Mavis? They all need you more than they need me. It's better this way."

" _I_ need you, Al. I need my brother..."

"You've been doing just fine for one-hundred-and-twenty-seven years. Hey... It's your birthday, isn't it? I hate to tell you this, but I forgot to buy a gift."

Al looked at Dennis who was crying just as bad as Mavis was.

"Dennis," started Al, "I want you to have my phone. You go through my music playlist, and you memorize every song."

Dennis nodded, leaving Al's side to retrieve his phone from the speakers.

Al looked at Drac. "I hope I've made you proud."

"You don't need to ask me that," said Drac, smiling. Tears ran down his face.

"Tell my mom what happened here," said Al. "Tell her that I'm sorry I won't make it to dinner."

Drac nodded. His gentle smile immediately faltered.

"I'm sure Johnny will be fine," Al assured Mavis. "You won't lose both of us. Promise me one thing, Mavis. Promise me that you'll take that son-of-a-bitch Hyde down; him and his pet."

"I swear on my life," promised Mavis.

"One more thing..." Al requested.

"Anything," she said.

"Sing me Queen."

"Queen?"

"Bohemian Rhapsody," clarified Al.

Mavis thought it was an odd request, but she reckoned that Al lived his life for good music. He wanted to end it with music.

" _Is this the real life?_ " She sang.

Al's eyes began to close.

 _"Is this just fantasy?"_

His breathing slowed.

" _Caught in a landslide / No escape from reality..."_

With that, Al died in Mavis's arms.

* * *

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review/comment to let me know what you think.

We're getting to the end. There are at least two more chapters.

Ciao.


	20. The Abomination

**The Abomination**

"What do we do now?" Dennis asked Mavis. He looked down at the now-deceased Alucard, trying to comprehend what had just transpired.

"My boy..." Drac muttered, wiping his forearm across his eyes.

A silence fell upon the room. Every single Hunter was cured from their brain-washed state and was recovering with the help of the other monsters, but Al's death took a toll on all of them.

"Hyde and the Abomination are heading towards the Hotel," Frank reminded. "What's the plan?"

"We stop it," Mavis confidently stated. "Al wouldn't want us to give up, so we won't. We'll stop Hyde, save the Hotel, and save the world."

"There isn't much we can do," Wayne added. "Have you _seen_ that thing? It'll destroy us."

 _Us_ , Mavis thought. _Us_.

A figurative lightbulb appeared over Mavis's head.

She placed her hand over Al's head as a goodbye.

She transformed into a bat and flew up and out through the hole the Abomination made when it left Hyde's lair. Not soon after, Drac and Dennis joined her in their bat forms. She did not protest to their presence. The family flew at top speeds through the Paris night sky.

The monsters in the lair looked up through the hole. Those who could fly were too weak or too unwilling to follow.

"Do any of you have any idea what they're doing?" Murray asked.

"No," said Vlad, still recovering from his Hunter condition. "But the fate of the world rests on them."

* * *

"You have a plan?" Drac asked.

"No," Mavis admitted. "I have a theory."

"We need better than that, Mavis!" Drac said.

"Just hear me out," she pleaded. "The Abomination is a combination of a bunch of different monster genes mixed together, including vampire genes. He has our strength and abilities, but that must mean-"

"He has our weaknesses," Dennis concluded.

"Exactly," she confirmed. "It's been night for a long time."

"Meaning the sun is right around the corner," Drac said.

He used his clairvoyance to look ahead to find the Abomination already miles in front of them with Hyde on its back. It was a lot faster than its size made them think. However, the vampires were accelerating at a much faster rate. It wouldn't be long before they caught-up with the Abomination and Hyde.

"At this rate, it'll make it to the Hotel before dawn," said Drac.

"Meaning we just need to keep it distracted before that happens," Mavis asserted.

The trio accelerated as quickly as possible towards Hyde and the Abomination. They were closing the distance rather quickly given that their acceleration was faster than that of the large beast's. Were it not for their speed, they would have never caught up with their enemies.

Dracula proved faster than his daughter and his grandson. He flew past the duo, not looking back nor did he wait on them. That would only be a waste of time and a waste of an opportunity. Mavis and Dennis were okay with Drac leaving them in the dust. All it did was give them motivation to move faster.

It was a few short minutes before Drac finally reached the very back of the Abomination. He managed to hover himself over the small of the Abomination's hairy back. There, he transformed back into a humanoid, landing on the back. Hyde, who was standing on the beast's neck, turned around to face Drac.

"I am so done with you and your people," Hyde announced.

"Then go ahead and do something about it," taunted Drac. He took a few steps forward, extending his arms to his side, allowing Hyde a few free shots. He saw Hyde take a few good hits from Al and Mavis earlier. From that, he reckoned that he could've taken Hyde down in a heartbeat.

"I'll give you the first one for free." Drac bent down and turned his cheek, pointing at it with his finger.

Hyde rolled his eyes, walking across the Abomination's back to meet Drac. He clenched his hand into a fist and swung at the vampire's face. The force of the punch was something Drac was not expecting. He was sent flying off of the Abomination, catching himself in midair before he could fall miles down onto the ground.

Drac flew back onto the back of the Abomination, rubbing his cheek and spitting out a tooth.

"You don't _have_ any powers," Drac stated in astonishment.

Before Hyde could do anything, Drac lunged at him and head-butted him, sending Hyde flailing and sliding across the Abomination's back.

"You bastard!" Hyde exclaimed.

As he slowly got up, he rubbed his nose with one hand, and with his other hand he reached into his pocket. From it, he pulled a small, shiny red stone no bigger than a tangerine. He closed his eyes as he held it, and from the look of relief Hyde had, it seemed that the pain had gone away.

"The Philosopher's Stone," said Drac.

"Very good," Hyde complimented. "I found this trinket over one-hundred years ago. I say, it comes in quite handy."

"That's how you've been able to live as Jekyll for so long," said Drac. "Jekyll is human, but the stone made him immortal-"

"Meaning I could stick around for however long _he_ sticks around," Hyde said, running towards Drac, ready to fight again.

In the Abomination's line of sight came Mavis. She floated right between his eyes, waving her wing at him. She then blew a raspberry, kicked him in the nose, and flew off. She did not hurt the Abomination nor did she intend to. All she wanted to do was piss it off, and she succeeded to that extent.

Mavis flew around behind the Abomination, forcing it to change the direction of which it was flying at.

"Catch me if you can!" Mavis taunted, zipping and zig-zagging in the air.

Drac and Hyde almost lost their balance on the beast's back as it turned.

"What are you doing, you fool?" Hyde asked the monster.

The Abomination roared as it swung its arm at Mavis, trying to catch her. She easily dodged it. However, Hyde was forced to grab onto the Abomination's fur to prevent himself from falling off. Drac stood straight on the back, holding his fists against his waist.

The monster did not stop swiping at Mavis, and Mavis kept on dodging. Soon, Dennis flew by the monster's face and jabbed it in one of its eyes with his tiny bat-fist. Dennis flew away as it cupped one of its hands over its face.

"Turn back around and continue towards the Hotel!" Hyde ordered. "Ignore them!"

The Abomination grunted as it obeyed. It changed its course, turning back towards the direction Hotel Transylvania was and continued on. Mavis and Dennis flew towards its ears and started to tug on them as far as they could. The beast roared in annoyance, shaking its head violently. Mavis and Dennis shook along, getting dizzy and disoriented.

Eventually, they were thrown off, but they quickly regained control of themselves.

On the back, Drac threw a punch at Hyde who blocked it with his hand. Hyde kneed Drac in the gut, causing Drac to bend over, but he used that to his advantage. He threw his head upward, knocking Hyde in the jaw and sending him staggering back.

Drac lunged and kicked at Hyde, but Hyde side-stepped. He then threw his fist at Drac's chest, but the vampire caught it with both of his hands.

Mavis flew by the Abomination's face, plucking a piece of fur off of the beast. That caused more pain to it than anything Mavis and Dennis had previously done. It attempted to bite at Mavis but she dodged it.

"Dennis, you want to see something gross?" Mavis asked.

"Not really," answered Dennis.

Mavis flew into the Abomination's nose. This caught him by surprise. It tried its best to claw Mavis out, but she couldn't let up. He felt pain from the inside of its head. Soon, it managed a large sneeze, forcing Mavis to fly out covered in mucus.

"Gross," Dennis said. "Why'd you do that?"

"Seemed like something Al would do," she revealed.

Dennis giggled, but this distracted him and Mavis. The hand of the creature quickly caught and trapped Dennis in its fist.

"Dennis!" Mavis called.

Dennis was a clever boy. He transformed into a hippo within the monster's grasp, forcing it to open up its palm. Dennis began to fall down, but he caught himself by turning back into a bat, flying to his mother and giving her a high-five with his wings.

"Since when could you turn into a hippo?" Mavis asked.

"Since- Mommy, look!" Dennis pointed up towards the distance, and Mavis turned towards the horizon. The sky was becoming bluer. The sun was coming up, and it wouldn't be long before they would all be under its rays.

Mavis looked down and found that they were flying over forests. Hotel Transylvania wouldn't be too far away. She needed more time.

"I have an idea," Mavis said. "For now, keep doing what we've been doing."

Hyde jabbed Drac's rib-cage, and Drac used his nails to scratch Hyde's face in retaliation.

"You know that this is the best course for our kind!" Hyde bellowed. "I will spare your Hotel and your family if you join me in my new world order!"

Drac was panting. "Many years ago, I might've. But, I've learned. I've come to a new understanding. I've seen firsthand what humans can offer. They don't want monster-kind gone, they never will. Because of that... they are better than you!"

Drac felt a burning sensation on his back. He turned around to see the sun just barely visible. However, the shine still pressed against his back, harming him. He looked to the wings of the Abomination and found them slowly but surely burning away in patches.

"The sun!" Hyde announced. "You must go faster or you'll suffer the consequences, you fool!"

Hyde felt himself being lifted up. His feet dangled below him as the distance between himself and the Abomination increased.

"He may be a fool," Mavis told Hyde. "But, he's _your_ fool."

She was in her humanoid form, flying upwards with Hyde in her hands. She looked like Superman carrying a civilian up in the sky.

Mavis looked down at her father, giving him a reassuring nod.

Drac smiled, understanding that Mavis knew what she was doing.

"Dennis!" Drac called. "It's time to get some shade."

"What about Mommy?"

"Don't worry about her," assured Drac. "She's going to be just fine."

He jumped off of the Abomination and descended down into the forest below. Dennis followed his grandfather.

"Let me go!" Hyde demanded.

"You best rethink your words," warned Mavis.

"Save me, Abomination!" Hyde barked.

The creature roared as it began to ascend after Mavis and Hyde. It flew directly upwards, following the path Mavis took. As it flapped its wings, more of them began to burn off. The sun was shining on both Mavis and the creature, hurting them both indiscriminately. However, Mavis didn't let the pain bother her.

By the time Mavis slowed down, the forest below was barely visible. They were hundreds of feet in the air, and it became a little hard to breath. The Abomination was reaching its claws up towards Mavis as it closed in.

"What now, Mavis?" Hyde asked.

"What comes up..." Mavis smirked. She then began to drop like a bullet straight down, face first.

She still carried Hyde in her arms, and Hyde wrapped himself around Mavis, screaming and wailing. They passed the Abomination, much to the creature's annoyance. It changed directions and dropped straight down after Mavis and Hyde.

Although its wings weren't extended, they still were exposed to the sunlight. They were burning away all the same. Furthermore, patches of his fur were burning. Exposure to sunlight was killing it, just as Mavis was expecting.

The forest was getting closer and closer.

"Pull up, fool!" Hyde demanded Mavis.

"Just a little bit more..." Mavis said. She turned her head and found the Abomination closing in. If she didn't pull up soon, it would catch her. However, she kept falling down.

The trees, which were large and pointy, were only a hundred feet below Mavis when Hyde yelled, "Pull up, Mavis! If you plan on killing me, it won't work!"

Hyde screamed and closed his eyes as the top of the trees nearly collided with them. However, he felt Mavis pull up. When he opened his eyes, Mavis was hovering over the trees, flying over them and away from the Abomination.

The Abomination was still falling straight down when Mavis pulled up. It extended it's arms when it saw Mavis fly away. It had meant to pull up as well, but the wings were completely burned away. As it chased after Mavis, the sun had burned away its wings. It couldn't fly. It couldn't save itself from crashing into the forest.

The monster roared as it crashed into the forest. It fell through a tree which impaled it through the chest. The other trees around it came falling down. Mavis brought Hyde over the Abomination and the tree that impaled it.

"No!" Hyde exclaimed.

The Abomination roared one last time as it began to disintegrate. Within seconds, it was nothing but dust on the forest floor.

"You gave it all of our strengths," Mavis said, "and all of our weaknesses. That tree was a stake through its chest."

She floated down into the forest to get out of the sun. She dropped Hyde about five feet in the air, making him fall face-first into the dust that his creation was reduced to. Flying in from the edge of the crater the Abomination made was Drac and Dennis, smiling at their victory.

Mavis stood behind Hyde as he grabbed a handful of dust.

"We will never be as strong as we used to be," Hyde sadly stated.

"You're right," Mavis agreed. "We'll be _stronger_. We _are_ stronger. But, no thanks to you."

"I was supposed to save monster-kind! I was supposed to bring us into a new era of greatness! You all are nothing but slaves to human influence."

"And you're nothing but a slave to your own delusions," Mavis said. She picked Hyde up by the collar of his shirt. She had Hyde in the palm of her hand. There was so much evil that he had inflicted, and there was so many reasons for her to show him the meaning of pain. "There is no punishment on this earth that'll bring you justice. So, have fun finding it in hell!"

"Mavis!" Drac called. "Don't do anything rash."

Mavis dropped Hyde. "I was only messing with him. You know me better than that, Dad."

"We still need him," revealed Drac.

"Why?" Mavis asked.

"A better question would be: why would I help you?" Hyde sneered.

"You wouldn't," admitted Drac. "But, unless you want to spend the rest of your life - however long it may be - wrapped in chains, dangling upside down over a pool of giant piranhas, you will give me what's in your pocket."

"You would take the Stone away from me?" Hyde angrily asked.

"I would, and I will," answered Drac.

"The Stone?" Dennis asked. "The Philosopher's Stone?"

"The Philosopher's Stone isn't real," said Mavis. "I thought Al made it up."

"Funny how things work out," said Drac. "Hyde had it in his possession for over a hundred years. Al had no idea he had it."

"So, if it's real..." silently said Mavis.

"Then we can save Al and Daddy!" Dennis finished.

"It's the only thing keeping me alive!" Hyde argued.

"Don't be so dramatic," said Drac. "You're immortal in that form. If you turned back into Mr. Jekyll, then you would age like a human, but only then would the Stone be of use to you. I have a simple solution: don't turn back. It's not as if you'll have anymore use in that form, either way."

"You cruel-"

"This is called punishment, Hyde. Now, give me the Stone."

"How do I know that I won't be put through something worse after I hand you the Stone?"

"What's something worse?"

"I don't know... Bigfoot's stomach?"

"Okay, so give me the Stone now, and I'll dangle you over piranhas. Make me take it from you, and I'll have you put in a giant sandwich for Bigfoot to eat."

"What?! That's unfair. You can't..." Hyde sighed, yanking the red Stone from out of his pocket. "Here."

Drac grabbed the Philosopher's Stone from out of Hyde's hand, and he started feeling rejuvenated. The wear and tear the past few days had on him disappeared. He felt like he was one-hundred years old again.

"You think it can save Alucard?" Hyde mocked. "It doesn't have the power! You're wasting your-"

Drac, with his free hand, froze Hyde.

"We only have one way to find out," said Drac.

"It will save him," Mavis insisted. "I'm sure of it."

* * *

It was a short while before they returned to Paris. Most of the monsters who had been captured stayed to see their brain-washed peers recover completely. A small handful were still mourning Al.

Frank held the frozen Hyde in his hands like Hyde was a large toy. Mavis, Drac, and Dennis all sat around Al's body. There was no sadness and despair when they looked at Al. There was only determination and hopefulness.

Mavis, holding the ruby red Philosopher's Stone in her hand, opened Al's hand and closed it around the Stone. She let the hand and Stone rest over his chest where his wound was.

Initially, there was no reaction. However, after a minute of nothing, the Stone began to glow under Al's hand.

"Oh, this is a good sign." Mavis smiled.

Al's pale face and hands began to get their natural color back. Some of his muscles twitched, and it was especially noticeable around the hand. Soon, Al's green eyes darted open as he gasped for air.

Everybody in the lair cheered.

"That was one hell of a dream," Al said, catching his breath. It was as if nothing ever happened. He looked up at Mavis. "Mavis, I dreamt that this big, Man-Bat-looking thing was brought to life and it threw a silver sword at me. I think it killed me."

He looked around, saw Hyde, and was confused.

"When did we win?" Al asked.

Mavis squeezed Al in a hug.

"I'll fill you in later," she promised.

Al grunted from the pain of Mavis's hold.

"Careful, Mavis," Wayne said. "Let's not have him die again."

"Yeah," Al laughed. "Wait... Again?!"

* * *

"So, this little Stone is the cure for death," Al said, holding the Philosopher's Stone up, letting the light of the Hotel infirmary's ceiling shine through.

"You're lucky you're a vampire and heal quickly," Mavis reminded. "If you weren't, you'd need the Stone for a long time."

"We're lucky I saved that time for Johnny, then," Al said, looking down at the comatose human. He handed Mavis the Stone, and she felt it's energy surging through her body. She was so entranced in its power that she almost forgot to give it to Johnny.

She took the Stone and placed it in Johnny's grip. Immediately, his body began to move as a reaction to the power. Within seconds, his eyes slowly crept open.

"Daddy!" Dennis exclaimed. He hugged his father on the bed.

"Hey, Dennis." Johnny smiled. "That was a great nap. How long was I out?"

Mavis leaned in to kiss her husband once again.

"I missed the sound of your voice," she said.

Johnny laughed. "What happened?" He looked down at the Stone in his hand. "What's this?"

"We found a way," Mavis informed, smiling. "That's the Philosopher's Stone, Johnny."

"I thought the Stone didn't exist."

"I thought so, too," Al admitted.

"Al..." Johnny said, remembering his last encounter with Al being not very ideal.

"Don't worry, Johnny. The cat's out of the bag. Everyone knows what I did, but I'd like to think that I made up for it. Anyway, we took the Stone off of Hyde, and-"

"Hyde?" Johnny asked.

"Edward Hyde," Mavis clarified. "As in Jekyll and Hyde. He was the leader of the Hunters."

Drac walked into the infirmary, saying, "And now, he's frozen and locked in the dungeons."

"He's been frozen like that for hours," Al reminded. "Don't you think you ought to unfreeze him? Don't get me wrong, he deserves it, but I'd rather not have him pee his pants and stink up the dungeons."

"Don't worry, Al, I'll unfreeze him in a few hours," Drac assured. "For now, let's have him think about what he's done."

"You stopped the Hunters?" Johnny asked.

"Glad to see the Stone worked," Drac said. "And yes, we stopped the Hunters."

"We have a lot of catching up to do," said Mavis.

"Make it quick," Drac ordered.

Mavis, Al, Dennis, and Johnny gave the Count a confused look.

"I thought we had all the time in the world," she said.

"Not today," Drac revealed. "I know your birthday was yesterday, but there's still a party to be had."

 **To be concluded in the next chapter**


	21. The End and New Beginnings

**The End and New Beginnings**

Al was very angry about the fact that he couldn't be the DJ for the birthday party.

Like the raving parties the Hotel held in the past, music blasted through the entire Hotel. Colorful lights beamed everywhere. Monsters were dancing to the fast-paced music.

Everyone was there. Frank, Wayne, Murray, and Griffin were reunited, dancing together as a group while Wanda tried to manage her children and Eunice was looking for an arm she lost on the dance floor. Blobby was dancing by himself, but he managed to gather a small group around him to watch him.

Johnny, Mavis, and Dennis were dancing together as a family near their friends. They were too busy to notice Al's disappearance.

Al sat on the roof of the Hotel, listening to his own music to try and drown out the sounds of Taylor Swift from downstairs. He looked up at the moon, glad that he was able to see it at least one last time.

"Always the loner," said a female voice, loud enough so Al could hear.

He took off his headphones and turned his neck. Lucine was standing on the roof behind him. She walked down next to him, sitting herself down.

"What's this I hear about you dying?" She asked, concerned.

"I got stabbed through the chest with a silver sword," Al informed. "I got better, though."

"How many times do I have to tell you to be careful?"

"Keep doing it, Ma. Maybe one day I'll actually listen."

Lucine chuckled.

"What now, Ma?" Al asked. "What're we going to do?"

"Well, as much as I miss our little house in New York, I'm afraid it's rather uninhabitable at the moment," she said. She recalled it burning down. "I suppose I'll just have to stay at the Hotel."

"Around Drac?"

"I see no problem with that."

"I didn't say that there would be a problem. It's just that... it'll be weird, won't it?"

"Not unless you make it weird, Al. There's nothing wrong with being friends with your ex."

"You just made it weird."

She rubbed Al's head. "I've always liked Europe more than the United States, anyway. What'll _you_ do, Al?"

"I... I don't know," he admitted. "I can finally go wherever I want to go; do whatever I want to do."

"Says who? You're grounded for the rest of your life for working for the Hunters."

"Darn. I suppose I'll never have desert for centuries."

"All joking aside, continue."

"I can do whatever I want to do and go wherever I want to go. But..."

"But?"

"My family is here. I've never had this, Ma. _We've_ never had this. I want to live the life I've always wanted for as long as I can."

"That's admirable. But, there's still a lesson I haven't taught you, Al."

"What is that?"

"No one likes a clingy relative. Drac, Mavis, and the others. They're always going to be here for you. Don't worry about missing moments with them, because there are infinite to come. Worry about missing moments out there. They're immortal, but the modern world is not. You understand what I'm saying?"

Al smiled. "When I get tired of the world out there, I can come back here, and when I'm tired of here, I can always go back out."

"Don't forget to take me somewhere nice, one day," Lucine said. "Maybe Hawaii or Tokyo."

"I thought this place was the nicest there was."

"Drac _wishes_."

Al laughed. "Well, I can't hear Taylor Swift anymore, so I guess I'll be heading down."

"You go on ahead. I want to moon-bathe a little longer."

Al transformed into a bat and flew back down into the Hotel. When he was gone, Lucine heard Drac call out her name from behind. He stood behind her, cloaked. She offered him Al's old spot, and he gladly took it.

"Long time no see," Drac said, nervously.

"A very long time, indeed," Lucine said. "I should've wrote. I'm sorry."

"No, _I_ should apologize," Drac insisted. "I need to apologize for any trouble I put you through."

"You have nothing to apologize for," she assured.

They sat there in an awkward silence for a minute before Drac finally spoke up.

"Before we catch up, I have to know something."

"Hm?"

"It's about Alucard. You're his mother, obviously. I know who he thinks I am, and I think I know who I am to him, given our past... encounter."

"Just ask me straight-out, Drac," she requested, gently.

"Only one person can know for sure, and that's you. Am I really Alucard's father?"

Lucine smiled. "Do you love him like a son?"

Drac was taken aback by the question, but he truthfully answered, "Yes."

"Say he wasn't your son. Say that you were wrong to assume this entire time. Would you still love him like he was one of your own?"

"Yes."

"Then, Count Dracula, to answer your question, I will ask you this: Does it really matter?"

* * *

"There's a party upstairs, Alucard, shouldn't you be a part of it?" Hyde asked.

The scientist sat on his cell bed in the dungeon of the Hotel. Al leaned his shoulder against one of the bars of the cell, looking at the prisoner.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable," Al sarcastically stated.

"You came to gloat, then," muttered Hyde.

"Well... Yeah," admitted Al. "You've caused more pain to your own kind than you have to the humans, and there's not even a hint of remorse from you."

"I would do it all again," asserted Hyde. "You of all people know that you have to hurt people in order to protect them. You know I'm right about humans, Alucard. We can never live together in perfect harmony. You think you live in peace with them? There can never be true peace."

"Maybe not," said Al. "But that doesn't mean we have to be at war. Besides, monsters should take comfort in the fact that the humans don't even like each other."

"They will show their true nature if they learn about the Stone," Hyde predicted.

"What do you mean?"

"The Philosopher's Stone. Jonathan has it, yes? It healed him of his injuries and made him immortal. He can live forever with you all. Of course, he'll age like you do, but that's besides the point. He'll enjoy power he's not used to and not made for him."

"Johnny is a good man. He won't abuse it."

"I'm sure you're right. Others, however... They'll want that power. Especially mortals. The Stone brought you back to life, Alucard. It is the cure for death. Think about how many people die every day. Think about how many people will fight for that power. Think about how far these people will go to get it. Jonathan may live forever, but he's less safe now than he's ever been before. You can party and celebrate your victory, but you know it's not a victory. You just delayed your defeat."

"Say whatever you want," Al said. "Johnny may be in danger, but at least he won't have to worry about you anymore. No one will have to worry about you ever again."

Al leaned in to whisper.

"The way I see it, you have two options. You can spend the rest of your immortal life locked in this cell..."

"Or?"

"Jekyll is mortal. Say you turn back. You can live for as long as you want or can that way, and however long that may be is still shorter than eternity."

Al turned away and began to walk out of the dungeons.

Hyde jumped from his bed and ran to his cell bars, calling out after Al.

"The Stone will be a curse on you! You do not deserve its power! Something will come one day, and you'll regret that you ever touched it!"

Al ignored every word.

After Al was out of sight, Hyde took a deep breath. He transformed into Jekyll for the last time in his life.

* * *

 _Living easy / Living free_

Al nodded his head along to the song on the dance floor. He turned to Mavis who was dancing next to him.

"You actually took some of my suggestions," Al said, incredulous.

"Don't flatter yourself," she said. "I had to give everyone a say. Next is Nicki Minaj."

 _Season ticket on a one-way ride_

Dennis was copying Johnny's dance moves. As Johnny moved about, so did the Philosopher's Stone which was in a necklace that rested over his chest.

 _Asking nothing / Leave me be_

Drac and his friends were dancing in a circle created by the Hotel guests. Many of those who left flocked back to check in again given that the Hotel was now completely safe.

 _Taking everything in my stride_

"I should tell you Mavis," said Al, holding her shoulder. "I'm-"

"Leaving? I know."

 _Don't need reason / Don't need rhyme_

"How?"

 _Ain't nothing I would rather do_

"You don't give me enough credit, Al. I've only known you for about a week, but that's plenty of time for me to know everything you are. You're an action-junkie, Al. You can't stay in one place all of the time like us."

"You're not mad?"

 _Going down / Party time_

"Why would I be mad? You're in your one-hundreds. You can make your own life choices. If anything, I'm happy. I won't have to deal with your dumb face every day."

"Now you're just giving me reasons to stay."

 _My friends are gonna be there too_

"Where do you think you'll go?"

"Back to New York for starters. After that, I haven't decided. Maybe someplace warm and tropical. Hawaii, maybe. Hell, I don't see why you guys can't leave for a while too. It's time you guys get a vacation, after all."

"What do you suggest?"

"Anything five-stars. A cruise, maybe?"

"I don't know. Knowing us, something will go horribly wrong."

"No, I'm sure you guys will be just fine. Just fine."

 _I'm on the highway to -_

The DJ booth abruptly stopped playing the music as Tinkles the Giant Puppy trampled it with Dennis and Winnie on his back. Chaos and mayhem broke out in the room as Tinkles went on a rampage for skeleton bones.

"Tinkles, stop!" Drac demanded as he flew behind the dog. Johnny was running not far behind Drac.

"Oh yeah," Mavis said, "we definitely need a vacation."

* * *

Weeks later

Al stood on the viewing deck of the Empire State Building in New York City, looking down at the nightly traffic. He kept his eyes and ears vigilant as he scoured below for possible crimes to stop.

However, Al felt a presence appear out of nowhere behind him. He turned on his heel, ready to face whatever was meeting him.

Al asked, "Who the fuck are you?"

 **The End**

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this story and sticking with me. I'm not necessarily planning on writing a sequel, but the ending to this story is meant to show that there's always a possibility for a sequel and that Al's story isn't over.


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